Much Ado About Genetics
by Lady Lara
Summary: This is in response to a challenge on NWP. Max is captured by familiars and breaks free about 12 months after her capture. This is her road to selfdiscovery and love. MA
1. Prologue

Title: Much ado about genetics  
Author: misslara  
Rating: PG-13

Show: Dark Angel  
Genre: Action  
Type: WiP, AU  
Disclaimer: None of DA is mine, trust me season 2 would've been very different if it had been.

Pairing: Alec/Max (eventually, way to much to deal with first)  
Summary: In response to the instinct challenge from NWP. My first plot, hope you like it.

A/N: Many thanks go out to Lyra for giving me the positive feedback I needed to work up the courage to post. In this AU, everything from season 2 happened I just made some changes, like Biggs dying. That was just plain wrong, and don't even get me started on FN. There was so much wrong with episode urgh! Ok I'll stop now before it turns into a rant.

Prologue

Alec struggled against the darkness that enveloped him. His eyelids seemed too heavy to lift but he felt an urgency to open his eyes. He just couldn't remember why opening them was so urgent. His instincts told him he was surrounded by transgenics implying safety. Finding his eyelids uncooperative he tried to move his arms and legs. Those seemed to be working just fine, this shift of focus made him more aware of the sounds around him. He strained his hearing and yes, he definitely heard people talking but he couldn't make out what they were saying. The voices sounded concerned though.

As he was struggling to hear what was going on around him the fog seemed to lift and he could now hear what was being said, he strained to get information about where he was.

"I hope he wakes up soon, I need to debrief him, get some more leads. The X6's weren't much help. We need to start soon before the trail turns cold."

Alec smiled to himself, that was Mole, then he frowned, what was this about following a trail... oh right, they had been on a mission to save a bunch of X6's that were being held in the harbour district. Something had gone wrong though, but since he was hearing Mole he must be back at TC. That meant everything had worked out.

"So what does a guy have to do to get some service in this joint?" Alec opened his eyes expecting to see his friends. Looking around the room he could see Mole, Joshua and Biggs standing at the foot of the bed while a medic was checking his bandages. He was expecting them to smile at him in return and he looked around for Max. Since all the ordinaries had been back on the outside, even Logan, they had come to a truce and Alec was hoping she'd care enough to check in on him as well. She wasn't there; Alec assumed she'd gone ahead to HQ to start making the X6's feel at home.

"Medium fella is awake!" Joshua was beside him in two strides and not shy to show his emotions. He was very happy that his second friend in life was alright and took Alec into a big hug to celebrate.

"Oempf, yeah Josh, I'm feeling much better. You weren't worried about me were ya? You know us felines, we always land on our feet."

The medic stepped in closer as Joshua let go and checked Alec's vitals. "I know you're eager to ask him questions but let me check him out and then he's all yours."

Leaning back to let the medic do his job Alec noticed the concern etched on the faces of his comrades. Anxious to find out why, he looked at the medic pointedly till the man decided he was finished and scurried out of the room.

"So what's with the long faces? Max hasn't started her capital punishment program again has she?" No matter what Alec might've expected to follow at his flippant comment, it wasn't the howl of pain that came from Joshua in response. Seeing Alec looking at him questioningly, Joshua turned and fled the room, he didn't want to be there when Alec was told of Max's fate.

"Max isn't here, Alec, she ... mmm she didn't make it back." Mole was never more reluctant to be the bearer of bad news. Everyone knew how Alec felt about Max, even if the man didn't know himself, and Mole wasn't sure how he'd take it.

"What, she got stuck on the space needle again and now she can't get back into TC?"

Mole shared a look with Biggs and taking pity on the lizard the X5 took over.

"Alec, I'm sorry man, but Max is dead. White shot her and dragged her onto a boat. We found her body in the river ..... with her barcode sliced off."

"NO!!!" Alec lunged at his friend and the medic rushed back into the room with a strong tranquilizer.

* * *

White dragged Max by the hair below deck and locked her into the waiting cage. He turned towards the lingering familiars.

"Toss the body into the bay and contact the conclave. Tell them we are on our way to the meeting point. I will guard the prisoner myself."

He dismissed them and walked over to a bucket, picking it up he tossed the contents at the unconscious body. Max got up with a start and tried to adopt a defensive stance inside the cage. She didn't bother to wipe the long strands of wet hair away from her face. Focusing instead on her captor. Inwardly she groaned, she knew exactly what was ahead and wasn't looking forward to it.

"Where is my son?"

"Who?"

"Look, 452, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. I have 5 hours till I hand you over to the conclave. At that point you'll wish I killed you. Now if you tell me where my son is I'll make sure you die without pain."

"You're all talk aint ya? You just yap, yap, yap, I know some one else who does that. Very annoying."

"One more chance, 452, where is my son?"

"You know, you really shouldn't lose your family."

White pulled out his gun and pointed it at Max. "You only need to be breathing, they said nothing about injuries". He fired without hesitation.

Max felt the bullet pass through the fleshy part of her lower leg and clenched her teeth. This was going to hurt but all she needed to do was bear it till the others came to save her. A trickle of blood made its way down her leg into her sock.

"Where is my son?"

Max merely glared at the man in front of her. In response White brought up the gun again and fired. The bullet passed just below her right shoulder blade. It hurt like hell but it wouldn't kill her.

"Where is my son?"

Max had to clench her teeth together to remain standing and could only glare. White then holstered his gun and walked over to a set of jumper cables conveniently placed below the cage. White brought them together and sparks flew. The sparks illuminated the dimly lit room and Max took the opportunity to check her surroundings. She could see the porthole and nothing but ocean outside. That was bad, but Max had confidence that her family would find her. Then White attached them to the bars of her cage and jolts of electricity started flowing through her body driving all thoughts from her mind.

Max quickly fell unconscious from the blood loss and White left the room. He ordered the boat to turn around and left to make a call.

* * *

Max struggled against the darkness that enveloped her. Her eyelids seemed too heavy to lift but she felt an urgency to open them. She just couldn't remember why opening them was so urgent. Slowly she felt her eyes open but she couldn't see anything. She tried moving her arms but those seemed heavy as well, she couldn't feel anything, couldn't hear anything. She moved her hand to her face and quickly blinked when her finger touched her open eye. Ok so her eyes were open they just couldn't see anything. Or feel anything. She brought her hand to her mouth and she tasted the wetness on her fingers.

That brought back a memory of when she had been a child. She had been here before, it had given her nightmares ever since. In her mind she knew she was in a sensory deprivation tank, that was why she couldn't see, hear or feel anything, but the panic was starting to overcome her. She knew she needed to keep her sanity so she started to count back from 1000, afterwards she went over the exercises Lydecker had her do as a child. She thought of everything to keep her sanity but made sure she kept her mouth closed, not wanting to give away any information.

* * *

3 weeks later

"What do you mean, they are demanding access? Why would an ordinary want access to TC? Just because there's peace between us doesn't mean we want tourists."

"Well, sir, the kid has a barcode, just not one I've ever seen before. And they're demanding to see Max." The X6 managed to look nonchalant before his commander but inside he was shaking like a leaf. He did not want to be here but he lost the coin toss.

"What do you mean a barcode you haven't seen before? Everyone from the Seattle facility is accounted for" Alec was losing his patience, he had been on edge all week and he didn't need this today of all days. Besides, focusing on the first sentence allowed him the opportunity to avoid thinking about....

"Well, yes sir, but this barcode was a female's so we're assuming he's her child."

"So are you going to tell me the designation or are you just going to stand there?"

"X5-453, sir"

"WHAT!!!!! Show them into the introduction building. I'll meet them there."

Alec followed the smaller man out into the main hall and took long strides to the wall lined with computers.

"DIX!"

"You bellowed?"

"Funny. Now there's a kid out there with the barcode of Max's clone, how?" Alec's voice was devoid of any emotion, making it clear to the figure in front of him that now was not the time for jokes.

Dix turned on his heels and dropped into his chair, his fingers already typing away at the keyboard in front of him.

"X5-453, or Sam, was under orders to guard one of the top scientists of Manticore. She was still there when Manticore burned. According to these files she wasn't a part of the breeding program. In short, I have no idea"

Alec sighed, this was not what he needed.

"Anything on our other project?"

"No, Alec, no sign, sorry"

The dark-haired man looked around anxiously at the guards watching him and his son. The little child seemed much more at ease and looked around with eager eyes at everything around him. He squirmed his hand free from the tall man standing beside him and made his way over to the guards. Before Philip could stop him the kid stood in front of one of the guards and tugged at his pants.

"My name is Sam, what's yours?"

Before anyone could answer him Alec came through the door with a woman in a labcoat trailing behind. Alec held up his hand and faced the man with disdain.

"Our medic will draw some blood from the child to establish her parentage. Once that is completed we'll talk. Not before."

The woman held out her hand and little Sam took it without hesitation.

"Don't worry daddy, I'll be back." Sam said in a sunny voice.

An hour later Sam was playing in a corner of the infirmary while being watched by Gem and Alec.

"Alec, there's no disputing he's transgenic. He's got the reflexes and he's well advanced for his age. I wonder how he ended up with an ordinary though."

Although they'd been whispering Sam looked up from his corner and walked over to the two X5 watching him.

"Mummy said I couldn't show anyone what I could do but mummy is gone now. She said that if she ever couldn't come back that I should come here. That mummy's sister would take care of me."

Alec and Gem shared a look; at Alec's nod Gem left the infirmary and went to collect the child's father. Meanwhile Alec walked over to he console the same woman from before was working behind. Without turning the woman started speaking.

"Well, the child parentage is interesting to say the least. It's definitely X5 offspring, with X5-453, Sam and X5-534, Seth."

When Gem returned with Philip in tow, Alec gestured towards a couple of chairs and motioned for the man to sit down.

"Thank you, I apologize for coming up to your doorstep like this but Sam told me I needed to bring her son here if anything happened to her. She was arrested by the border police when we tried to get into Canada and turned over to the NSA. I haven't been able to find her since and I was hoping you'd know how to find her."

Alec's mind made the connections quickly and raced to HQ, bursting through the doors without pause and headed straight for Dix.

"Did we check the DNA for the body picked up from the harbour?"

"Alec? Ehm, no we didn't. There didn't seem any need."

Alec paced the room furiously the trail was cold. He needed to think outside the box but how?


	2. Escape and Evade

Chapter 1

Escape and Evade

Max took one more look at the guard rotation, she couldn't understand why the conclave had left her alive but they had and Max needed to make the most of it. She had been with them for months without a possibility to escape but she had noticed new runes appearing on her skin and she knew she needed to get back to TC and soon. Despite the fact that her family hadn't come to save her as she thought they would have she still felt loyalty to them.

Max could see a lot of people moving around outside her window but none of them seemed to respond to her presence. No one had spoken to her in all the time she had been here, no one had tried to torture her, nothing. Max had been left to fend for herself. They had conducted experiments on her, dropping her in different environments to see if she'd survive but nothing else. Even White hadn't returned after those first few hours.

Turning her attention back to the movements outside she could see the ladder that lead up to the surface. She wondered what the surface would be like here. Last time they had let her out she'd been in the jungle. Smiling she let her mind drift back to the time she had spent in the jungle. By the sight of the stars she'd known she had been somewhere in Panama but the jungle had been beautiful. She had enjoyed hunting for small game, living in trees and relying on her instincts. In her old life she would always suppress her instincts but they had become valuable survival skills.

Unfortunately when she had come close to civilization she had been picked up by familiars. They had been waiting for her as she tore out of the forest, she still didn't know how they had known to find her there.

As the door opened and 4 guards entered the room Max assumed a defensive stance but she didn't bother to attack. Her last three encounters with them taught her she couldn't win and punishment was more time in the sensory deprivation tank. She accepted the pills given to her and swallowed. She sighed knowing full well that these pills indicated another experiment.

The X5 flopped onto her bunk and closed her eyes. She could feel someone checking her heart rate. They must've been satisfied because Max could feel she was being picked up and carried away. Forcing herself to stay absolutely still she imagined the actions happening around her to occupy her thoughts.

Up the elevator, hmm too lazy for the stairs huh? Open the doors, down the hallway into the motor pool. Yep, that's motor oil I'm sniffing. Now start the truck and ease it out of the building. Stop to talk to the guard. Drive to the gate. Stop at the gate, more yapping. And out the door. Now let's count down from 60 for distance.

three, two, one, "GO!" With that shout Max moved at incredible speed to take out the guards in the truck. She kicked out the rear doors and jumped out hanging on to the gun she had swiped from the last guard.

Turning she aimed at the tires and shot them out. The truck swerved in response and the driver fought to keep the truck on the road. The truck was slowly making a 180 turn coming about to face Max. Before it was completely at that position Max fired her gun again aiming directly at the driver. Shortly after the driver of the truck slumped over the wheel, while pushing his foot down on the accelerator. The truck flew down the slope and came to a standstill against a tree.

Max cocked her head to one side shouldn't that thing go…

Below her the truck exploded with a loud bang. Max turned, a feral smile on her face, spitting out the pills and crushing them under her boot. Holstering the gun in her belt at the small of her back she continued on in the direction the truck had been taking her. After about a mile she ducked off the road and followed it out of sight from passing cars, already making plans of getting back to Seattle.

"Yes sir, yes I completely agree. These people need proper protection. Yes sir, our alpha squad would be honored to assist in the relocation. May I assume that compensation? … Right thank you sir. I will be in touch when we arrive at the scene."

Alec tossed the phone at his desk and leaning back in the chair turned to face Biggs still grinning. "The High Commissioner decided he needs our help to keep the rebels at bay. Suit up, you're going to Africa."

"You know boss, offering our services to the UN was a streak of genius. We get positive exposure, we get sweet equipment to work with and we get paid like kings."

"Plus the idiots don't even realize they are giving us full access to their intelligence. Yeah, this rapid deployment force has been very good to us. Now let's get out of here before Delta team realizes I handed the plushy assignment to you."

Biggs gave his 'boss' a mock salute and headed off in the direction of the barracks he shared with Alpha squad. Alec turned the other way and headed to junior barracks. Most of the X7's joined in a hive mind hadn't made it. They had remained loyal to Agent White and he had most of them terminated when he no longer needed them. Some had managed to escape but they had been unable to adapt to a life outside the hive mind. But the second generation X6's, and the few X8 that had made it, were still young and needed supervision.

Gem had taken the responsibility of motherhood very seriously and although she was very young herself, she and the other mothers of the new generation also took on the responsibility of the younger X6's. It was Gem he had a meeting with. Despite the encouragements of exploring other interests most of the X6's had requested to be educated in the military tradition, preferably by Alec. His position at Manticore had demanded respect and his effort for freedom had only increased their hero worship. He was meeting Gem to arrange a training schedule for those that wanted it.

Before he could reach the barracks a very familiar voice greeted him.

"Hey, Boo, wait up for Original Cindy. She's got supplies for the kiddies in there and she could use a hand."

Alec smiled and turned towards the brunette. O.C. was standing at the visitor's gate with a box at her feet. Looking commanding with her hands on her hips as she tried to convince the guard to skip the paperwork that would grant her access to the base.

"O.C., you should know better than to try and corrupt my guards. Just 'cause you managed to convince Layla to swing your way doesn't mean you need to try it on the rest of us." Alec motioned to the guard to grant her access and bent over to pick up the box at Cindy's feet.

The vivacious woman looked at the man in front of her and shook her head a little. She had known this week would be hard for him; the memory of Max still haunted her as well. His I'm-always-all-right-face no longer fooled her one bit. She could feel the regret and grief still inside the blonde in front of him and resisted the urge to put her arms around him to console him. Instead the slid her arm in his and put her other hand on his arm.

Alec felt comforted by her touch and was grateful for it. He felt lucky to have such a great friend in Original Cindy. Cindy had always seemed loyal to Max before but since her disappearance they had become good friends. They chatted about the latest gossip while walking to the barracks.

Jumping the fence with practiced ease Max used all of her honed skills to gain information about the place before her. The place that, even if her stay had been brief, she had considered to be her home. Now it bore a closer resemblance to a ghost town. Max had already taken notice of the lack of protesters outside the perimeter but this eerie silence shocked her to her core.

Walking the now deserted streets she wondered about the fate of its inhabitants. The place didn't look like a battle had been fought and Max knew the transgenics wouldn't have left their refuge voluntarily. She decided to start a systematic search of the most important buildings to try to learn something of the fate of its previous inhabitants. As Max walked the halls of the building that they had dubbed as HQ she remembered the days these same halls had been filled with the hustle and bustle of people making a life. Closing her eyes she could picture Dix and Luke behind the computers while Alec and Mole stood hunched over a table making plans for supply runs, fortifying their defenses and all the other things they had done that Max had taken for granted.

Although her memories were bountiful the places she saw were all stripped clean of their contents. Whatever transpired in her absence, no clues had been left for her to follow. Max could feel the tingling at the back of her neck that had become well known over the last year. Unconsciously rubbing at the spot right above her barcode she moved quickly away from TC hiding in the shadows for protection. She needed answers and she could only think of one place to get them and fast. Max stopped at a payphone and dropping a coin dialed a well-known number.

"Original Cindy's too busy to answer. Leave a message and maybe she'll get back to ya."

Max didn't want to risk her friend by leaving a trail so the dropped the phone back on the receiver. There was another way of contacting her friend, and it would tell her if any transgenics were still in the area evading capture. All she needed was some supplies and with her newly honed skills they were easy enough to come by.

The Next morning – Jam Pony central

"Missy, how many times do I have to tell you, this is a place of business! I am not your personal post office. Tell your buddies to use another lackey."

"Woah, Normal, ease up on Original Cindy or she'll not share Hope's latest picture's with your ass."

Normal walked out into the central area and held out his hand for the pictures Cindy was holding. With her free hand Cindy plucked the package from her boss' grasp and traded it for the pictures. Tearing the strip keeping the carton closed Original Cindy wondered why Alec hadn't handed her the information while she was there yesterday. Her amazement grew when she saw all the box contained was a piece of paper with an illegible code on it. Flipping it over to unearth another clue as to its meaning, O.C. noticed the red substance on the back. Frowning in thought Original Cindy wondered why anyone would use jungle red nail polish on a piece of paper.

Then a memory struck her and she rushed to the nearest phone. Tapping her foot in anxiety the brunette waited for the person on the other end to answer.

"Boo! Guess what, our boo is alive and she's around here somewhere."

A/N: Another chapter completed. To be honest I thought they were going to meet in this chapter already but somehow it didn't happen. Please have a little patience; I'm fairly confident the meet will be worth the wait. Thanks again to Lyra for proofreading this chapter as well.


	3. Instincts revealed

Chapter 2

Instincts revealed

Max knew her pursuers were closing in on her but she needed to know that there was still a reason to fight. Seeing Original Cindy with whoever helped her translate the message would tell her what she needed to know. Max circled the perimeter but stayed well away from the proposed meeting location. If there were any sentries she would have her answer, if Original Cindy didn't show she would have her answer as well.

Max was really hoping Original Cindy would show. Making another round along the perimeter Max noted the hover drone that had been following her was getting closer, more open in it's chase. She nodded; they must be getting ready to pick her up. She was surprised they had let her get this far. It was time to throw them off the trail for a moment. She pulled out her pocketknife and a piece of aluminum foil. Reaching behind her she started carving a line in the back of her neck right above her barcode. Craning her neck forward she opened the gap a little wider and removed a rectangular device from her neck that she deposited in the package of aluminum foil in one flowed motion.

Applying pressure to the small wound she tucked the package in her pocket and made her way to the building that had housed the maternity ward. She had picked that building because O.C. would know it best and it was close to the entry of TC her friend would be most comfortable to use. After thoroughly checking the surroundings to make sure there were no hidden traps Max moved into a window where she had a good vantage point of all the access roads to the old maternity building.

Original Cindy felt some hesitation when she crossed the perimeter into TC, partly because it had been months since she'd been here. In part it was also due to the nature of the meeting, she had always hoped her best friend would turn up alive. After all she had done it before. But Original Cindy was very much aware of exactly how much had changed for the transgenics since their leaders disappearance. As for what had happened to Max while she was gone, Original Cindy barely dared to think about that, she could only hope that Max's experience hadn't changed her too much. Her talk with Alec on the phone earlier had prepared her somewhat for what was ahead but she was still apprehensive of what her friend would be like.

Meanwhile Max slowly exhaled and allowed her to feel a moment of relief when she saw her oldest friend in this world pass the fence. This meant all was not lost. A thought made her frown though, this meant she would have to deal with her tail first. Tucking her hair in a ponytail she strode purposefully in the opposite direction of where Original Cindy was headed.

Right after she turned the corner a figure emerged from the shadows nodded and followed Original Cindy's tracks.

Max headed to TC's former headquarters and pulled the aluminum package out of her pocket. Placing it on one of the tables in the center of the room she tore open one corner and left the device exposed. With one jump she was on the iron landing, another landed her in the structure that had previously held up various computer and TV screens and nestled in the shadows.

She didn't have to wait long, straining her hearing Max heard several heartbeats approaching. Some waited outside while others made their way into the building she was hiding in. Max sniffed the air experimentally and a feral smile marked her features again. It seemed to transform the young woman in to a hunter, a predator. Max felt her humanity fade into the background as her instincts took over and she welcomed it.

Over the last year she had come to understand why Alec hadn't wanted to blend in and be normal. It was simply impossible to do. Now that Max had reawakened her instincts she couldn't for the life of her remember why she had ever strived to be normal. Her year in solitude had taught her the difference between Manticore's teachings and her transgenic nature. Though she still despised the first she accepted and even embraced the latter.

Max's enhanced vision showed her 4 familiars entering the room, her nose and hearing told her this was the complete advance team and that there were three others outside ready to come in if summoned. Ordinarily one transgenic wouldn't stand a chance against two familiars or more but Max was no longer a normal transgenic. She was a predator, something beyond any training Manticore could have given her. Max could smell their fear despite the overwhelming numbers. It was that smell that kept her smile firmly in place as she moved without making a sound to the window. As the familiars crossed the threshold Max dove out the window headfirst, her black figure going unnoticed against the black sky.

Max landed in a crouch and proceeded to stalk her prey, in this case the three familiars standing near the van they had brought for transportation. Moving around the van she picked them off one at a time by showing up right behind them and with an expert snap twisted their necks. Assuring her of an immediate and silent result. Picking up a sidearm from the last guard without even making a face. Her human fears were not a factor when her instincts were in charge. Drawing also the gun she still had from the small of her back she moved back into the building both guns pointed ahead of her.

The advance team was on their way back out of the building, moving hastily as they had lost contact with their support team. They were confident that they were still holding the advantage because they outnumbered their target. They had always been able to return with the target suitably subdued with minimal effort. Off coarse before they would come for her while she had no cover and no guns to help her even the odds.

Max met them in a narrow hallway and immediately emptied both guns in the first two attackers to even out the odds in her favour. As the guns ran empty she instantly dropped them and blurred to the third familiar knocking the gun from his hand with a swift kick to the wrist. To her content she could hear the joint snap beneath her foot. Turning she went immediately to a roundhouse kick to disarm the fourth man as well.

Pushing off she landed on the man's chest and together they went through the wall. The familiar beneath her broke her fall as the wall gave way behind them she took the opportunity to grab his arm with both arms and broke his elbow. Grabbing his head between her hands she pounded on the concrete, once, twice and a third time for good measure to crack the man's cranium. Still crouched low on the man's chest she turned with a snap focused on the last man still standing, all the while emanating a loud growl from the back of her throat. Before she could pounce the man doubled over, a neat hole between his eyes. Behind the man another stood and Max found herself staring at a pair of very familiar hazel eyes and below the nozzle of a gun.

Alec stared at the scene in front of him, momentarily stunned. There she was, gorgeously alive with a vicious look burning in her yes still crouched over her last victim. Alec knew the signs; he would need to convince her he wasn't a target before she would pounce on him. Shocked he could hear her growl, meant to strike fear into the hearts of her enemies, change and soften to a soft purr of welcome. And he could hear himself returning the purr with one of him own.

Max slowly stood and swayed to where Alec was standing, she still had the look of a predator but with a different kind of prey in mind. She walked a circle around Alec performing a visual inspection, occasionally sniffing the air around him. His eyes followed her every move captivated by her intent gaze and catlike grace. Max stopped directly in front of him and stepped closer, intentionally invading his personal space.

Suddenly a strategic cough resounded in the silence followed by a chuckle.

"For a second there Original Cindy thought she was going to have to brake a nail but you seem to have everything under control."

Alec snapped back into reality and grinned, his eyes leaving the slender figure in front of him.

"I'm afraid I missed out on most of the fun too. Maxie must've wanted to come back from the dead with a bang."

Alec could see the feral glint slip from Max's eyes, returning her face to a more human state, although he could still see a trace of the animal contained inside her in her eyes. He knew Max had come back different, as he was mulling over just how different Max stepped aside and past him to hug Original Cindy without uttering a single word.

" Ok now boo, I have to say coming back from the dead twice is more than this girl can handle. How's about this time you just stay alive and close by so I can keep an eye on you."

Max drew back from the embrace and simply nodded at her friend. Original Cindy put her hand on Max's face as if to convince herself that Max was all here before she continued.

" But she's mighty glad to see ya. Come on let's get out of here and get you cleaned up."

Original Cindy put her arm around her friend's shoulders and let the girl away from the devastating scene. As Alec fell into step behind them vacating the building Max halted a step and reached back for him. As she grabbed his hand and entwined her fingers with his all he could do was look on in amazement. Looking up he could feel Original Cindy staring at him. Meeting her gaze he shrugged as she smiled and together they led the brunette out of TC and to the van they had waiting.

All the way back to base Max refused to speak about what had happened to her over the last year. Instead she asked Original Cindy a string of questions about what had transpired in TC during their absence.

" In short your boy managed to play them both against each other and won. Now all the transgenics live together, which is where we're headed now."

During Cindy's speech Max got more and more impressed with everything Alec had managed to achieve for all of them. Max just nodded in response but the glances and soft smiles directed at Alec's back told Original Cindy everything she needed to know. Whatever else happened to Max, Original Cindy was confident that her boo had come correct on her boy. To Original Cindy that meant at least that part of the future looked good, but Original Cindy didn't realize just what had happened at TC before.

In the front seat Alec was more concerned since he did know the truth. Before, Max had always been more inclined to incapacitate then to kill. What worried him the most though was that Max had voluntarily fired a weapon, and had used it most expertly to kill two men in cold blood. The Max he knew and l…. Woah Alec shook his head, the Max he knew and cared for much better would never have touched a gun. Not even to save her own life, let alone use it unprovoked, he could only speculate what had caused this miraculous transformation.

In the backseat Mac could tell from the drop in adrenaline and testosterone emanating from the males in front that they were coming closer to safe territory. With a slight movement of her hand she got Alec's attention.

"I have new runes, you'll probably want Luke and/or Dix to check them out. Assuming…"

"Yes Max, both are doing fine and we'll get them on it …"

" …as soon as I come out of my checkup and debrief."

Max interrupted before he could finish, seeing his surprise Max gave him a slow smile.

" Don't worry, I do remember some things form our training. Please tell me you have hot water and real soap to go with the poking and prodding session."

Eager to please the legendary leader of TC the young X6 that was driving nodded vigorously, So forcefully was the bobbing of his head that Alec was momentarily worried his head would dislocate itself from the rest of him. Leaning back into the seat his trademark smirk dropped firmly in place he quipped.

" I'm sure everyone at base will eagerly give up anything they have to make you feel right at home. The fabled leader coming back from the dead isn't an everyday occurrence, even for us."

Max didn't disappoint. "What pretty boy, no near-misses, death-defying leaps or otherwise from you on a regular basis"

"Not a scratch on me, but please don't take my word for it Maxie, feel free to check me out yourself."

"In your dreams, stud." The comeback was to be expected but somehow it didn't have the venom it had always been laced with before. Now it almost sounded affectionate. Max returned to looking out the window, the surroundings were starting to look vaguely familiar but she couldn't place it exactly. Then it hit her, though she hadn't been her in over a decade she knew these woods extremely well. Alec could hear the small voice laced with a steel band coming from behind him

"We're going back there, aren't we Alec?"

"Yes, Max, but it's different now very different."

" Yes Ma'am, it's very cool there now. We make our own decisions. No ordinary can tell us what to do. And we have real houses and everything." The young driver piped up, then suddenly fell silent and looked at Alec with a look of shame on his face.

Alec just grinned, they weren't on a real mission and he could understand the youngsters feelings. "Max, let me introduce you to our driver, this is Chat. Chat meet Max, Chat here was named by Mole…."

" And why is that Chat?" Max interrupted.

" Well, Ma'am…"

"It's Max!"

"Right well, uhm Max, Commander Mole seemed to think I talked to much. According to him I talk even more than sir, uhm Alec here and erm Commander Mole didn't think that was possible. Or so he said, then he said I resembled a chatterbox. Well, I'm not sure exactly what that is but somehow my squad mates found out about it and the name sorto stuck. The short version, anyways. I still don't know exactly how they found out, although news does travel fast around the base. Like thing one time when ……" A pause. "I'm doing it again aren't I. I'm sorry sir erm Alec."

All the while he'd been talking his entire body moved with his mouth to highlight certain points. Max could help but smile at Chats antics. Some things hadn't changed at all, Alec was still worshipped by the younger series. She was happy he still inspired such loyalty and devotion from his troops even though Alec was probably embarrassed by it. She was grateful for his foresight in bringing the kid along. Alec must've understood she'd be apprehensive about coming back here. Facing the memories she had tried to bury for most of her life.

"How is Mole? And Joshua.. is he.. there too?"

" Yes Max, you'll be surprised how many of your family are there waiting for you."

Max was curious about the change in his tone of voice, something was going on. Suddenly suspicious she stiffened slightly and put her senses on full alert to find out what was going on. Her senses didn't pick up any danger or threats though. All she got from the people surrounding her were positive vibes and elation at her return. Slowly relaxing back in her seat Max decided to let this one slide. She felt weary but she knew her instincts wouldn't let her sleep anytime soon. Not without protection.

She couldn't ask for what she really needed so she made due and asked to borrow Alec's jacket feigning feeling cold. She was hoping his smell and the warmth from his jacket would fool her senses into letting her sleep, if only for an hour. She draped the jacket around her and tried her best.

After 15 minutes she realized the effort was futile, sighed and started to sit up straight. Suddenly she could feel a tentative touch on her right knee. Alec had stretched his hand between his chair and the door and was trying to comfort her. Max felt the warmth of his touch spreading and moved her leg closer to the seat to give him better access. Extending her hand under the cover of his jacket she placed her hand over his to keep it in place. Leaning her head back against the headrest, feeling the warmth of his hand, and his smell in her nose, Max drifted off into her first peaceful sleep in more than a year.

An hour later they were getting close to their destination, without making a sound Alec motioned for Chat to slow down. They had gotten the all-clear sign from base indicating their entryway was free and that they weren't being followed. Chat took one look at the 2 women in the back seat and slowed down considerably. Alec doubted the 30 minutes would make a difference in the grand scheme of things and Max really needed the rest. Off coarse the fact that she was holding on to his hand as though it was her lifeline didn't factor in the decision at all. The next 30 minutes passed in a comfortable silence, much as the hour before that had done as well.

As the van approached the main gate Alec nudged his hand lightly. Max's eyes snapped open; her senses on full alert immediately while a sense of dread nestled in the pit of her stomach. Looking out of the window as the van crept forward Max could see all the differences in the compound.

Chat drove the car straight to the clinic, wanting to spare Max the mass of people that probably awaited her at Command. Standing at the steps of the clinic however stood Joshua. The big guy could barely contain his happiness at Max's return and enveloped her in a hug even before she completely emerged from the vehicle.

"Easy Big Fella, I'm happy to see you too."

" Little fella found her way back. I'm so happy." The big lug had tears in his eyes as he nearly barked with glee. He then took Max by the hand and Original Cindy with the other and started pulling them inside.

" Come on, Max back is a secret, Joshua didn't tell anyone but people will see."

Max looked at Alec briefly before being ushered inside by Joshua. Alec lingered at the steps a little longer. Running his other hand through his hair he let himself remember how good it felt to be able to touch her. Then he turned on his heels, he soldier face firmly in place and headed for Command. He needed to prepare for Max's debrief, considering their ability to retain information there would be a lot to cover.

When Max walked through the doors of Command a little later she was completely unprepared for the deafening roar of clapping and cheers coming from the occupants. The story of her escape from capture by the familiars had spread like wildfire all over the base. As she slowly made her way across the large room everyone in the area came over to offer their congratulations and best wishes. Although she welcomed the feeling of being welcomed back with people she considered her family Max was no longer used to be near so many people. She felt her instincts climb to the surface inside her and struggled to remain in control of her reactions. As the bodies pressed closer to her she was overwhelmed by their attentions.

Some of the transgenics in the room more apt at reading others were recognizing her struggle and tried to back away accordingly. Unfortunately Max was unaccustomed to fighting her instincts for control and the urge quickly spiraled out of her control. Her instincts were screaming at her to be heard and she let out a loud growl intended to intimidate and display her alpha status for all around.

Everyone instantly froze at the sound coming form the slender brunette in the middle of the room. The transgenics gathered around her quickly bowed their heads in submission and slowly moved away. Moving into an offensive stance Max let her gave circle the room, pivoting on her heels. She fixed everyone with a stare checking their assertion that she was alpha to them. Most might consider her inferior in training but all could tell the signs of an alpha asserting herself.

Precisely at that moment entered the room right on the heels of Dix and Luke. Both nomalies instantly adopted a submissive stance as well and halted their progress into the room. Noting their odd behavior Logan frowned but he could see no reason for their odd behavior. He shrugged their odd behavior off and looked around when he noticed others doing the same.

Mid-swing his gaze caught on the slender figure standing in the middle of the room. Exited to see her he took two large steps forward in her direction but faltered slightly when Max's body snapped around and fixed him with a pointed stare. Logan again shrugged away his uneasiness and wanted to move forward further, but he was halted by Luke who pulled him so he couldn't move. At his slight movement, Max's growl had become slightly louder, Logan couldn't believe the sight before him. He stood slack jawed staring at the ferocious creature that now consciously tried to scare him. He couldn't match her with the woman he knew as his cat burglar and possible girlfriend, the woman that had stolen his heart.

Presented with the terrified ordinary in front of her Max's instincts were howling at her to teach him a lesson about respect but her humanity was also screaming in her mind. The Brunette stood in conflict. Alec chose that time to merge from the shadows where he had been watching. He knew that what he needed to do now would hurt the old man standing below. He was sure that Logan wouldn't understand but Alec wasn't sure whether Max could contain her anger much longer. No matter how confident she looked now, if she acted on her impulse she would kill Logan and that would kill her as soon as she came back from her instincts.

Although he didn't want to do so, the animal within him was overjoyed at the opportunity to acknowledge Max in front of Logan. Alec took another step forward until he was clearly visible for everyone, including Max. She turned to face him, keeping the ordinary in her peripheral vision. Max cocked her head and sniffed the air. Slowly the growl died down as Alec sauntered closer to her catching her gaze and keeping it directed at him. As he came closer he made soothing noises, Max could feel her anger and irritation dissipate at the sight of him coming over to her. She could feel her humanity returning. Alec held out his hand to her and she placed her smaller hand in his, interlacing their fingers. Taking a couple of deep breaths Max could feel the predator in her coming to rest and relaxed her stance.

The entire room exhaled in relief and returned to their greetings, though they were more guarded about it. Max remained at the spot waiting for Logan to greet her as well but the old man was clearly keeping his distance. He was having a hard time coming to terms with what he just saw. It reminded him vividly of the pictures Lydecker had sent him, pictures he had tried so hard to forget.

Max could feel his rejection coming off him in waves from across the room and her shoulders slumped a little. This just confirmed for her that she and her kind would never be accepted, would never fit in. Hardening herself she looked up and around the room and found everyone looking at her with jubilation written all over their faces. She instantly felt better; her family accepted her, for now that was enough.

She looked over at her hand still locked inside his and scooted closer to his side. She was done feeling sorry for herself, she had friends and family that cared about her. Alec looked at the brunette by his side and smiled, considering himself extremely lucky for finding her and bringing her home. He could hear Logan recovering and moving over to them. Wanting to spare her the pain of his disapproval Alec pulled her towards the offices and to his surprise Max followed him without a sound of protest.

All was right in the universe of the transgenics, their leaders were reunited and had just confirmed their status for all to see.

TBC

A/N: Just to let you know, this chapter was not beta'd so all mistakes are my own responsibility. I was so happy to get it finished that I wanted to get it out there immediately. Please let me know if there are any blatant mistakes


	4. How Jondy got her groove back

Chapter 3

How Jondy got her groove back

Over the next week Max settled into life at the base. At Alec's insistence she'd accepted an apartment in the Commanders building and spent her time reacquainting herself with her life and family. Practically all transgenics were housed somewhere on the base. It was a part of the deal Alec had managed to strike with the UN, not everyone had been happy at first but regular assaults by several rogue states had convinced most. Max soon discovered that not everyone was involved with the taskforce; in fact most were being encouraged to seek other employment. Since transgenics had not been recognized as citizens of the USA they had to run the base as self sufficient as possible.

The day after her debrief Max was pleasantly surprised to find Syl and Krit sitting opposite her at breakfast. It had been a tearful reunion and Syl had told her all about the business she and Krit were running on site. TranSecurity delivered high-end security systems to all those that could afford them. It got started after Krit had been caught on a surveillance tape stealing from a casino vault. The owner tracked them down and instead of having them arrested he'd hired them. They had gotten a message to TC and offered their services, supporting the cause with technology, arms and money. Syl immediately proceeded to offer her baby sis a job, saying she could use her skills to test their systems. Max smiled at the idea but she had told them she wanted to think about it and talk to Alec about it. Both sibs had raised their eyebrows at this, expecting her to want to discuss it with Logan instead but wisely refrained from comment.

She hadn't seen any others yet, although Krit had assured them all her sibs were here. Zack, Jondy and Zane had taken up service in the taskforce and they were deployed out at the moment. Another thing she had done was sign up for training, it helped her maintain control over the memories she needed to keep locked away. That was where she was headed now. The week's worth of extensive training had brought her back up to par but she felt she needed to push herself harder. She needed the adrenaline release that the sparring sessions brought her, it helped to keep her instincts on a short leash. She had moved up in the ranks though, every time she let her instincts take over during a fight, however briefly her alpha shone through and her opponent backed down.

Alec however had refused to fight her, claiming a busy schedule. He called on that bust schedule a lot, nearly every time she had tried to talk to him over the last week he had blown her off. Max moved over to the sparring ground to watch the X6's train, and to watch their trainer more closely. Alec was diligent in his responsibilities towards the younger transgenics and he taught the most advanced classes of hand to hand combat himself. Max had heard about this at breakfast this morning and decided on the spot to go over and watch.

The weather was decent so the training was held outside, Max moved over to the bleachers and sat down to watch. She could see Ralph training across the filed near the wall. As she was about to look away Ralph leaped up against the wall and landed on her opponents neck, effectively bringing him down. She then moved in for the kill and stopped an inch off his face and beamed a huge grin at Max as she got up. Alec was beside them in a heartbeat. Max could hear him ask Ralph where she got that move, and Ralph did was point across the field. All motion stopped when the entire class looked over where Max was sitting. Max smiled a little sheepishly at them, but her smile went to a full grin when she realized Alec was looking at her with a new respect in his eyes.

He turned back to Ralph and asked her to perform the jump again for the entire class, against him. This seemed to make Ralph more than a little nervous but as the true soldier she was she sucked it up and moved into the starting position. She threw a couple of punches and kicks at him first, since surprise was a big element in the success of her move. To Max in became clear Alec was waiting for her to make her move she purred loudly as a distraction. It worked. Alec turned his head slightly and Ralph used the opportunity to jump him, she managed to bring him down but he worked himself free before she could get a punch in.

Ralph jumped up and beamed her megawatt smile again. Alec had to grin too but he shot a glare at Max anyway. Max just smiled sweetly, before Alec could come over and berate her she moved off the bleachers and headed towards the obstacle courses. The ones she had done as a child had been replaced with more difficult ones, higher walls to scale and smaller beams to navigate across. She moved over to the one Mole had told her about, one that was reserved to test squad leaders. Moving to the starting area Max removed her jacket and sweater, leaving her clad in her tank top and shorts. Stretching her muscles a little to warm up a little she waved at the camera and signaled her intentions to run the course unaccompanied. Running it alone had inherent risks, hence the camera. She would be expected to signal her return as well, that way if she didn't someone would come looking for her.

The time to beat on this course was 26 minutes and 40 seconds set by Alec under the old regime. It was the longest course available and the only one that required more than just running, along the way she would also have to crack a safe, pick a lock and navigate a minefield. Max knew that to get anywhere close she would have to let her instincts take over, but she needed to know how she would measure up. Looking around one last time before releasing, she could sense a presence closing in on her. Whirling around to face her unwanted audience she saw Alec sauntering over at a leisurely pace. Looking closer she could sense his nonchalance was feigned. In this state she was more aware of him than ever before, she knew that he was the alpha male she needed. Now she needed to prove she was worthy of him. But her human self didn't want to give in, because if she started feeling safe she would let her memories come out and those needed to remain buried.

Max had been conflicted all week and her thoughts were still troubling her as she watched him getting closer. Watching his broad shoulders, his narrow hips, his…. STOP she berated herself for letting go and took a firm hand on her emotions.

"You know Maxie, if you want to set a time here you'll need this."

Looking down at his hand Max could see the gun he was holding at her, without thinking she shuddered and took a step back. Guns still frightened her to no end. She managed to overcome her fear to save herself but she wasn't ready to accept them back in her life. Swallowing she looked at his face to see his response to her shudder. Looking in his eyes she could tell this was a test, she never told him why she hated guns but he had seemed surprised at her having used them during her escape. When her human side was in control she wouldn't touch them but the animal and training in her recognized it as a tool and accepted it as such.

With a nod she accepted the gun and took it front his hand. In a fluent motion she checked the magazine, slid it back and tucked the gun at the small of her back. She moved to the starting line, took a moment to focus herself and broke out in a blur for the first obstacle. She was determined to push herself to the limit on this run. A smile started to grace her face and she overcame various obstacles on the first section. The adrenaline was rushing through her system and it was spurring her on to greater heights. She loved using her skills; it made her feel free and alive now that she was free to do so. Soon she came up to the staging area that held the safe. Before a failed attempt would send a small shock through the contender but that feature had long since been disabled.

In command Mole reported to Alec on her progress, it being closely watched by everyone there with bets being placed on her performance. One person however didn't participate but did watch the screen closely. He still didn't recognize the woman moving in front of his eyes, she was too far removed from the runaway that had so desperately wanted to be normal. He was so sure he could shape to pass for normal but then Alec had come along, an alpha male that wouldn't make excuses for his DNA.

As Max opened the safe and munched on the chocolate she found inside Logan started pacing his office. He desperately wanted the woman back that had needed him, that had done whatever he asked. This on didn't seem to need him at all and he didn't like that, he didn't like it one bit. Since the others were too busy cheering Max on, no one noticed when Logan crept out of command holding her laptop clutched at his chest.

Back at the obstacle course Max had arrived at the second staging area, she was feeling the strain she was putting on her body. Blurring was meant for short bursts of extra energy not for endurance. She needed to take a couple of breaths to pass by the locking mechanism. When she pulled back the lock pick she could hear the last tumbler moving back in the closed position and cursed under her breath. Moving it back in, she steadied her hand and pushed the last tumbler out of the way. She opened the door and moved on in a blur trying to make up the lost time at the door. The hardest part was still coming up ahead.

Moving to the edge of the minefield she stood still and closed her eyes. Sniffing the air she made a mental map of the area in front of her and smiled to herself. Mole had placed the dummy mines and he had done so smoking, she took two steps forward and sniffed again. Taking another two steps she repeated the process until she was on the other side. In Command everyone looked at each other in amazement, no one with feline DNA had ever navigated the minefield this fast. Only the canines had ever managed to do what Max had just done.

Having recovered from her trip across Max felt a new wave of energy and bolted away. She leaped the wall placed in her way and grabbed a branch on the other side to vault across the large mud puddle behind the wall. There she halted in shock, the last staging area was a firing range. Max slowly walked up to the range and was surprised to see Alec already there. She took one look at the dummies at the end of the range and felt the gun pressing at the small of her back. She realized that she couldn't do it, shaking her head she started backing away.

Alec was behind her in a single leap and Max bumped into him on her last step. Alec brought his head down to her ear and whispered. "You can do it Maxie, I know you can."

Max shook her head and lowered it in defeat she couldn't face a gun. Pleased that she hadn't pulled away from him, he was determined to help her so he put his hands on her waist and slowly so as not to startle her he pulled the gun from her waistband. Holding it in one hand he put his other hand back on Max's waist and let her to the range. Still standing behind her he circled his arms around her and brought the gun in front of her.

"Trust me Maxie, you can do this. Guns can't hurt you if you know what to do."

Eva had known what to do, and she still was killed by one Max silently argued with Alec but she made sure not to say it. She still wouldn't look up and Alec was wondering whether he should let her, but then his resolve hardened not talking about it won't help her. She'll either face her demons or she'll have to tell me why.

Max slowly raised one hand to the gun and then another. As soon as her fingers touched the gun Alec let go of it. When she was holding it her training took over and she went into her firing stance. Aiming for the dummy she fired a shot and was dismayed to see it go high. She compensated for the difference in height and weight she had the last time she had fired a gun at the range and tried again. The results were better but not as good as she had been. Alec moved his hands to her waist and changed her stance a little, and unconsciously rubbed circles with his thumbs. Max felt calmer and fired three rounds in succession. Those were all in the targets kill zone, Max lowered the gun and softly spoke two words Alec never expected to hear.

"Thank you."

Alec stepped back and let Max walk over to the cleaning table; expertly she took the gun apart and cleaned all the pieces before assembling it back together. Then she looked at her hands and quickly handed the gun back to Alec. On their way back she unconsciously rubbed her hands over the spots Alec had touched her before.

Later that night

Max pulled herself together and headed for her apartment, her muscles protesting with every step. She had spent the afternoon at the school with the X8's. Their game of hide-and-seek, with some interesting new rules added for fun had left her drained of energy. X5's had an amazing stamina but she had gone to the limit that morning and then had pushed herself again in the game. Pulling her sore body up the stairs she could hear whirring behind her door. Her initial response was to head back down the stairs, not wanting anymore drama today. But then she changed her mind. That was her apartment up there and she wanted to make good use of her bathroom. When Alec had showed her around he had teased her that she had the only room on that floor with a bath but Max had been eternally grateful and she was determined to make use of it.

Opening her door her senses were assaulted with the vision of Logan pacing the room dressed in a dinner jacket. The whirring of his exo-skeleton grated at her ears and she took a seat waiting for the man to explain himself. Logan turned to face her and started speaking.

"Max, I'm glad you're here. You can change in the bedroom, but you'll have to hurry. Our reservation is in 30 minutes already."

Max's brain needed another moment to process. "What? Look Logan, I'm grateful but I'm really tired, can we do this another time." Like never she thought.

"Come on Max, I want to celebrate your return. It's a wonderful little Italian place, you'll love it."

"Logan, we're not welcome in the world out there, how could I go to a restaurant." mmm, she thought to herself, something else we could use around here.

Logan chuckled softly to himself, he had thought of everything. "But Max they would never need to know you aren't normal. The dress even covers your barcode so you can wear you hair up."

Max sighed. He would never understand "Logan why would I want to pretend to be normal? I want to be accepted for who I am, and I thought you did."

Alec chose that moment to barge right in. "Max, you soaking already? I wanted …." his voice faltered at the sight of Logan standing over his woman. "Logan, here you are. We thought we'd lost you when you didn't show up at command all afternoon."

"Well, you're about to lose me again. Max and I are going out for dinner, so if you'll excuse us."

Alec wanted to ask Max if it was true, but didn't. He already knew the answer before she spoke. Max had always chosen the old man over him before. Why would things be any different now? Max kept her mouth shut, she didn't want to embarrass Logan in front of Alec but she really wasn't going anywhere but in her bath tonight. Alec didn't wait any longer; he turned and closed the door behind him. While walking to his quarters he berated himself for letting himself believe she was going to choose him.

Logan turned his attention back to the girl sitting in front of him and smiled knowing she would come with him now. Why else would she not have disputed him in front of Alec? The Max he knew always did as he asked.

"Why don't you get dressed now, I'll see if I can push back our reservation a little so you can get ready."

"Logan, I'm not going to a restaurant. Not tonight, not if I have to pretend to be normal."

Changing his tactics he nodded in acquiescence. "All right then we'll do this some other time. Will you at least come with me to the gate to sign me out for the night?"

"Sure Logan, I will."

Letting her lead the way, Logan followed her down the stairs to his car, as she got in to accompany him to the gate the came up behind her and stuck a syringe in her arm. Before she could react he had emptied it into her and waited for her protests to become sluggish. When she passed out he put her on the backseat and draped a blanket over her. He then got into the car and drove away from the base into the night.

Alec arrived at his quarters and opened the door to an expecting Joshua.

"Where is little fella? Is she coming later?"

"No Josh, Max isn't coming she decided to spend the evening with Logan."

"No Max rather be here, but she feels grateful to Logan. "Joshua tried to reassure his friend. But Alec didn't believe him. Joshua shrugged his shoulders and went to grab the Mac 'n cheese he'd made.

As they were wolfing down the food the alarm sounded throughout the building. Alec grabbed his jacket and flew to command with Joshua right on his heels.

What's going on?" Alec barked as he entered mission control. Dix turned and answered in a flat tone.

"Alpha squad has broken radio silence," then his voice grew louder as worry seeped in, "It's Jondy, they were ambushed on their way back to base and Biggs and two members of Delta squad, Jim and Donna, have been captured. They managed to follow them but they're holding him in a heavily populated area. She's asking permission to break cover and move in."

"Negative, I don't want the general public to know we're still here. I'm coming over to observe the situation. Have Delta squad secure the perimeter. I don't want them transporting him to a secondary location. The remaining members of Alpha squad are to keep a visual on the location and begin scouting."

"Alec headed out of mission control, outside he was met by Chat who handed him his gear and they both got into the retrieval van and drove off at high speed. While underway, Alec kept appraised of the information and listened to Jondy reporting the situation. As she was SiC of Alpha squad she was now in command and she handled the situation with ease. Alec was still amazed at the long way she and the other 'niners' had come since they had showed up at TC. Max has every reason to be proud of her siblings, they had done everything to prove themselves worthy of joining the task force.

As Jondy finished her report on the layout of the building the second radio dedicated to Delta squad crackled. "Zack here, we've got a large group of vehicles entering the location. They don't look hostile, it …. It looks like a party."

Jondy broke in on the other radio. "It's the Ruskies all right, they're throwing a party. Sir with your permission we could use them as cover to scout the inside of the building."

"Permission granted, but low numbers and no contact."

On the scene, Jondy signaled Zane closer and dropped her gear. Moving in behind the last car she overpowered one of the girls and knocked her unconscious. She proceeded to strip the girl of her clothes and quickly put them on herself. Rummaging through the girls purse she took her makeup and did her face in the outside mirror of a parked car.

Meanwhile Zane had swiped the sunglasses of a passerby and put them on. He dropped all his gear but kept the clothes. They matched the dress code of a bodyguards close enough to pass a casual inspection. Stepping out of the shadows, Zane kept his radio to monitor all transmissions and checked Jondy's appearance. Jondy was stunning, with her flaming red hair and pale complexion she looked angelic but Zane knew she was nothing like an angel inside. Life had been hard on Jondy, but she had come out of it stronger. Now with the excessive makeup and the short skirt she looked the part of a working girl. But Jondy couldn't lose her regal features, which is why he posed as a bodyguard. Most of the high-class companions had them these days, life being tough on the working girl.

Nodding at him they made their way to the front door, Jondy didn't speak any Russian but her looks spoke a universal language and she was granted access without a question asked. Inside she looked for a good vantage point and Zane immediately began his report on the possible locations.

Jondy turned towards her friend and whispered in his ear so the others would hear as well. "With a good distraction I think we can get them out without a shot fired. There is a fire exit out the back but it can only be opened from the inside without tripping the alarm."

Alec had arrived at the scene and Chat parked the van in a shadowy alley around the corner, one by one the others from Alpha squad came to the van to pick up civilian clothes and moved into the club. Alec was the last one to come in. Before he entered he ordered Jondy to begin her distraction at his entrance. In response Zane quickly spoke.

"You'll have 3 minutes and 30 seconds to locate and secure them, anymore and Biggs will be very unhappy with the delay."

Unable to ask for an explanation because he reached the door, Alec frowned. He wondered what kind of a distraction they had in mind. As he entered the main room the first sounds of an old song drifted over and Alec's eyes went big and flew to the stage. There she was, Jondy was posed on the stage with a long coat hiding everything but her face from view.

The man began singing and Alec was stunned to see Jondy start moving to the beat of You can leave your hat on by Joe Cocker. Before he could do anything else, Zane was by his side and whispered "Remember 3 minutes and 30 seconds or Biggs'll be mighty pissed."

That got him out of his daze and he noticed all attention was flowing to the stage, no one was paying attention to the members of alpha squad making their way to the back rooms searching them systematically. Alec grinned at Jondy's creative solution, her performance wouldn't cause any suspicion and no one would remember it to have been the distraction when the prisoners were discovered missing. It was something he could've thought off but he wasn't sure how Biggs would take it when he'd hear about it later.

Alec kept his eyes on the stage making sure no harm came to Jondy while he waited for the report that everyone ha vacated the building. Jondy was having fun on stage meanwhile, showing off her flexibility but keeping the coat clutched on front of her. Occasionally she would peep out a bare leg and that was enough to get the crowd going. At two miutes she dropped the coat to her shoulders holding in closed over her breasts. As she was wearinga tube top her audience still thought she was naked underneath her jacket. She was convinced no one would be able to describe her face on the morning. All were to busy to find out what else was underneath the coat.

At three minutes she was getting a little anxious to get off stage. She had no intention of showing them anymore but she knew she needed to keep their attention till everyone was out safely. Jondy wasn't bothered by false modesty but she knew Biggs wouldn't appreciate it and she didn't want to give him anymore reasons to be mad at her. They worked together fine but as soon as work was over they fought, a lot.

Alec heard the all clear report and moved in to get Jondy off stage, but he was intercepted by Zane who bounded past him and climbed the stage with indignant rage plastered on his face.

"I pay big money for you, don't go showing the merchandise top others."

Wit that he threw Jondy over his shoulder and walked out of the room before anyone could stop him. Jondy couldn't stop laughing hanging over hi shoulders. Zane didn't stop till he reached the retrieval van and they both burst out laughing again.

"I didn't think people would fall for that again, but I guess it works as good on Italians as it does on Russians."

Behind her back Alec came up and tapped her shoulder, "As much as I enjoyed the display of womanly wiles I think you better change before Biggs sees that outfit." He grinned and added "Although if I tell him about it, he might decide to want a private showing."

Jondy blushed deeply at that, it was no secret she was attracted to her CO but she was embarrassed because it was obvious to her that he didn't feel the same way about her. Back on base, the three were taken immediately to the clinic and placed under observation. They had been shot with tazers and some sort of tranquilizer. Jondy settled in for her wait in a chair she had placed next to Biggs bed.

TBC

A/N: Ok my muse was bugging me all weekend you I wrote this in one go. Now I'm very curious what's going on with Biggs and Jondy, but the focus of this story lies with Max. I'm thinking of making a parallel story focusing on the adventures of Alpha squad, any one else curious?


	5. Beware the fools

Chapter 4

Beware the fools

The nest day Alec was immediately confronted with his most hated task, appeasing the US government.

"Mr. President, I think we've been more than fair. We are not considered to be citizens of the United States, yet we do pay taxes. We pay for access to the closed airfield and we keep on base all as requested. I don't see the problem. But I'll repeat what I've said before. If you want us gone I'm sure we could find a country willing to accept us but that would mean we might be forced to accept orders against this country I really wouldn't want to have to obey those orders. I'm sure you understand."

Alec paced the office again listening to the man's reply and waited for another opportunity to respond. "Yes sir, I understand that you are in a difficult position but I'm afraid I cannot allow a government official to live on base. I would be unable to guarantee his safety. And I cannot inform you when we accept a mission from the UN. That would violate the terms of our agreement with them."

What Alec didn't say was that that particular term had been put in by them and not by the UN. Alec no longer felt any particular loyalties to the US but the Familiar presence was most concentrated here so they wouldn't leave until they had dealt with that threat. Which was the next item on today's agenda. Several familiars had been meeting unfortunate accidents over the last couple of months and Alec was expecting a response from them, having Max back must even speed up that timetable. For some reason the cult had wanted Max alive, and Alec was determined to find out why.

On the other side of the line the president was still talking so Alec took the opportunity to look over several reports. Alec felt fortunate he could multitask because otherwise these weekly talks would take up far too much of his precious time. The only reason he took them was to uncover potential leads on familiars from him. That man was getting his information from somewhere and since Manticore was gone it could only come from the cult.

Suddenly his ears pricked up and he turned his full attention to the conversation.

"… you understand that although I am not convinced this officer has managed to convince most of the DOD to give you a try."

"Let me get this straight, you want us to train your elite forces."

"Yes, Mr. McDowell that is exactly what I'm saying. Even though it is against my better judgment my Defense minister claims it is essential for the protection of our great nation."

"Well, sir we would be more than happy to assist in the defense of this great nation," Alec just about managed to take the sarcasm out of his statement. "Just have someone from DOD come by with some proposals and we'll see what we can do."

Alec rounded off the call with utmost expedience without actually sounding rude. Hitting the disconnect button he headed to Dix's desk and asked him to check on the latest proposal of the US government before the next taskforce meeting.

He then moved to Chat's desk and pulled the psy profile of his last conversations straight from the printer. Although the transgenics from the psy corps had been thoroughly hated under the old regime many were now valued officers. Most had been eager to undo what damage they had inflicted when possible and they had helped Alec immensely during his negotiations with various officials. Although most negotiations were on the level now, Alec hadn't been opposed to a little subterfuge in the early stages.

According to the report in his hand the president had been speaking the truth and there were no hidden agenda's. None that could be credited to the man on the phone anyway, Alec was very familiar with the term plausible deniability. But for now he was content to wait and see their next move. Nagging in the back of his head was the act that he hadn't seen Max yet that day. He hadn't heard anything inside her apartment when he walked by this morning and he had assumed that she would've stopped by command to see what was going on. Still somewhat perturbed about yesterday's events he pushed the thoughts away for the moments and looked over the debrief from Alpha squad.

Since Biggs had been kept in the infirmary all night Jondy had spent most of the night finishing the debrief. Alec was still convinced the girl deserved her own command but he knew it was pointless to suggest it. Whatever was going on between the two of them distance wasn't going to help. Seeing no other points on his agenda for this morning Alec decided to bail early so he could check of his friend at the clinic before going to the training ground for his daily combat lessons.

At the clinic Jondy had just returned to Biggs bedside after having left only long enough to shower and change her clothes. She looked up guiltily when she saw her Co enter the room. Before she could apologize for being there instead of attending her duties Alec held up his hand. She smiled ruefully and almost sighed in relief, if anyone would understand her feelings it was Alec.

"Now that you're here, I think I'm going to find my sis and have breakfast with her. I've waited practically my whole life to see her. Will you..?" Jondy stopped and looked down before tossing her hand up in a never mind gesture. She moved to the door and with a final look at the man in the bed she headed out, in search of her beloved sister for some sisterly advice. Syl had been hopeless in the matter, maybe Max would be more help.

As soon as Jondy was out of earshot Alec sat down in the chair and grinned at his friend.

"She's gone, you can wake up now."

As if on cue Biggs' heart rate accelerated and he opened his eyes.

"How'd you know?"

"Please man, we trained for this together. She's gonna figure it out soon you know. And then you'll really be in for it."

"Yeah well, it's worked so far. Besides she should've gone straight to work this morning. It's bad enough that I have to be here. No need for my SiC to be stuck here as well."

Alec was shaking his head "When will you accept that the woman worries about you?"

The pointed look Biggs directed at the blonde man sitting beside him told Alec to change the subject pronto. Capitulating for the moment, Alec leaned forward and looked more closely at his friend.

"Did you hear anything about who they were planning to sell you too?"

"Nah, they were smart enough to put the double whammy on my instantly, drugs and tazers still make a bad combo. Didn't seem like they had a transport prepared though, the place we were holding us was obviously intended for longer stays. I'm thinking we should focus more on them, they seem to be getting more muscle and firepower than they need for their regular deals."

"Hmm, I'd agree with you there. Any good gossip while on vacation?" Alec was relaxing back in his chair, saving refugees was more a PR assignment than anything else. Most squads therefore considered it vacation duty but it occasionally gave them some good intel from foreign nations willing to share.

"Nothing in particular, just the usual offers to change sides."

With that Alec stood up, he needed to head for the training ground. He shook his friends hand and promised to buy him a drink later that night with his squad. Despite himself Alec secretly hoping Max would come to observe his class again. It had been nice to see Max so obviously support and approve some of the things he did.

When the lesson was over Alec was inherently disappointed that she hadn't come but berated himself for hoping she would. With his hair still wet from the shower Alec went to the mess hall to catch Joshua for lunch. When he walked through the doors he saw Joshua and Jondy sharing a table but no Max. Heading over he could see Joshua had already gotten him some food and he slid in beside Jondy. Jondy immediately put her hand in her pocket and slid him something under her hand. Covering her hand with his he waited with looking till she had removed hers. Taking a peek he saw real Belgian chocolates under his hand. Slipping them in his pocket, he stole a glance around to make sure no one had seen the exchange them briefly hugged Jondy as thanks.

Jondy whispered softly "I thought some things wouldn't change, I still remember every piece I got back then."

Alec nodded but refrained from answered for fear someone would overhear. Chocolate was still difficult to come by these days, especially the good stuff. Any chocolates that made it on base were eagerly traded for ridiculous amounts of money. Alec decided he wanted to save them for a special time, although his inner voice chided him for wanting to wait till he could share them with Max. Somehow he knew Max would be more inclined to share if chocolate was involved.

Alec wanted to ask Jondy whether she had seen Max but he didn't, his ego wouldn't allow it. Lucky for him Joshua had no such qualms and asked Jondy for him.

"Jondy have you seen Max? She was going to come see new paintings for art show, but she never came."

"I've been looking for her too Joshua but I haven't seen her anywhere, and her cell is turned off. I was going to check her apartment next. Didn't you tell her we were coming today Alec?"

"I did tell her; maybe she's got food poisoning from her dinner yesterday." Alec couldn't help the face he made at his comment.

"We don't get sick sweetie, remember?" Jondy smiled at the man next to her. She felt a bond with both the men at her table. Both had told her many stories about her sister when she asked and they had become good friends. Jondy could really see why her sister had fallen for this man, Joshua had told her as much with his paintings even though Alec seemed not to want to know.

Jondy pushed her plate away, "I'm going to track down my sis. I'll see you boys later, play nice."

Alec and Joshua both watched the fiery redhead sway out of the mess hall. Joshua cocked his head at her retreating back and looked at his best friend with a question in is eyes.

"Hit me Josh, what's on your mind?"

"Why Jondy and Biggs not together? Why Alec and Max not together?"

Alec held his head in his hands and couldn't answer his friend. He knew his buddy wasn't expecting to answer but he couldn't help wonder about the same thing. Now that she was back he desperately wanted to show Max how he felt. As for Biggs, his friend could get his head and his heart to agree on his favorite 'niner'. Across the table Joshua held out his hand and comforted his friend. Alec had come a long way since Manticore burned. Alec no longer tried to outsmart Alec, he now accepted the darkness in his soul as a part of his being and spend every day making up for it.

Not 10 minutes later Jondy came back to the mess hall, bursting through the doors. She stood at the table panting for breath. Alec was surprised, for a transgenic to be out of breath she must've blurred right across the base without stopping. Looking at the redhead in front of him curiously he wanted for her to take a deep breath.

Jondy spoke in a rush, never stopping to take breath. "Alec, Max is gone, her bed isn't slept in. I went to the guardhouse but she never signed out last night, but Logan did and he never signed back in. The guard was about to report it. Alec, something has happened to her, something must've. Why would her bed be unslept if she didn't go out for dinner? Alec I can't find her! We have to find her!" Jondy's voice grew louder; she practically screamed the last sentence.

Normally Alec would've considered Jondy to be one of the most levelheaded people around but seeing her this distraught he quickly stood and put his arm around her to help her calm down. Feeling his touch she came back to herself, and looked up at his face. Precisely at that moment Biggs decided to walk in.

Taking in the scene in front of him he felt the anger rise from deep with in him. Alec had no right to touch her like that. He was about to launch himself at his friend when Joshua stepped in between them and pointed at Jondy. Biggs took the opportunity to look again he saw she was upset. She was upset and she was getting comfort from Alec. Unable to blame his friend he shifted the blame, to where it came naturally for him namely Jondy. He turned on his heels and marched out with a scowl on his face that bode ill for anyone whoever met him next.

Alec immediately dialed Chat and ordered him to search for Max in last night's security tapes. Hopefully that would give them a clue where she had gone. Alec didn't think Max would be foolish enough to go off base on her own, she had been briefed on the dangers. Too many foreign agents were looking for a piece of a genetically engineered weapon, normally this wouldn't pose that much of a risk. After all Max knew how to take care of herself. But most agents had gotten real good at disabling transgenics with a mixture of drugs and tazers. Alec was worried she would be shipped off to god knows where before they could get to her, that is what had him worried. They had just gotten her back, they needed more time, time to sort everything out between them.

Alec made a promise to himself right then and there, as soon as he saw Max there would be no more beating around the bush. She needed to know she had a choice and that Logan was the wrong one in his opinion. No matter what would happen after, he owed them both that much.

When Chat called back two minutes later Joshua was cradling Jondy who was still not completely recovered. She had been ecstatic to know her sister was still alive, to lose her again before having even seen her was too much for her fragile emotions. Despite looking impressive Joshua kind nature en empathic skills helped him see emotions that people wanted to hide from other and from themselves.

As Alec got off the phone he face looked like thunder.

"She's not one any of the security cameras leaving the base. According to the feeds she should be here but Chat has asked around and no one has seen her since yesterday." Alec was not looking forward to what he needed to do next but he took his phone in hand and dialed another number. No answer, that left him with no other option. He didn't want to intrude in Max's privacy but he needed to locate her pronto.

"Chat, proceed with the cloning and prepare the retrieval van. If Biggs is out of the clinic I want the rest of Alpha squad to move of active status. If her location shows up outside the base I want to be able to displace in 5 minutes."

Jondy managed to pull herself together and gratefully hugged Joshua, thanking him his support. She moved next to Alec and together they headed out. Alec stopped right before leaving the mess hall and turned to face Joshua.

"Big guy, you got any plans this afternoon?"

"Joshua's not busy at all."

"Then come with us, we could use your help."

Hearing that Jondy stared at him with a curious look in her eyes. Then she nodded and motioned for Joshua to come over extending her hand so he could take it. If Max was upset who better to comfort her then her 'big fella'. And his bulk would protect her during extraction. However much Jondy wanted to be the one comforting Max she knew that while out there she couldn't step away from her responsibilities, even if she wanted to.

The three of them walked to command where Chat was already waiting for him with most of the Alpha squad surrounding the retrieval van. Alec stopped to hear Chat's report and Jondy moved to her squad unconsciously taking her natural spot next to Biggs.

"We've activated her cell phone and pinpointed her location." Chat looked over at Biggs and waited for him to continue.

Between clenched teeth Biggs gave his report. "Alpha squad ready for deployement."

Alec nodded at them both. " Let's move out!"

In a singular motion everyone filed into their positions. Alec took up the map to study their target area. In the other van Jondy was seated face to face with Biggs waiting for Alec to begin planning the op. She stole a look at Biggs and was hurt by the soldier mask he had put up. She wondered what had caused his retreat this time and felt her hard fought maks slip from her features. Hiding her pain at his refusal she bent her head over the intel that had been gathered and pretended to study them. Opposite her Biggs looked at the beautiful redhead sitting across from him and his features softened. Now that he knew she couldn't see he let himself go and wanted to comfort her. He knew Alec was too much in love with Max to see anyone else but Jondy was so much like her sister that he was still afraid. Afraid that, she would pick him.

He leaned backward and relished for a moment in his favorite pastime, watching Jondy. He did it all the time now, content to watch her from a distance when she relaxed, when she sparred, hell whenever he could get away with it. Jondy really was exceptionally beautiful with her flaming red hair. She was nothing like …. Biggs cringed when the memory of his beloved Cece flooded his mind. He chastised himself for thinking of her, comparing both women. Because he couldn't deal with his feelings he went to what came easier, he got angry, and he got angry with Jondy. She had no right to replace Cece in his mind.

Biggs took a couple of deep breaths to help calm him down and heard he the radio crackle inside his ear. That brought him back into reality and he was back, his full attention on the mission at hand. The next few minutes were spent trying to figure out mission specs, although the details were left open till they had some visual of the structure. For the remaining drive Biggs and Jondy refrained from looking each other in the eye. In the back of the van several squad members were quietly rolling their eyes at each other. They knew better than voicing their opinions but all had to smile at the antics of their CO and SiC. They were not at all worried because they knew that once things came to a head a personal animosity would be shed. Both their commanders always had the squad's best interests at heart.

Meanwhile in the other van Alec was trying to work out how Max could've left the base without appearing on any of the cameras. He was relatively sure there were no security breaches on base and there hadn't been any non-transgenics on base other than Logan and Original Cindy. Alec was wrecking his brain while everyone on the base was sifting through the security footage trying to find evidence of tampering. Whatever had happened, Alec was going to make sure I wasn't going to happen again.

Arriving at the location Biggs send out Zane and Jondy for recon while he sought refuge in the command van where he found Alec and Joshua in deep conversation.

"Josh listen to me, why would Logan take Max here? He knows how dangerous it is for us out here."

"Alec, Joshua doesn't know but I smell him. He here and Max too."

Biggs shook his head at Alec's shortsightedness, even though Alec knew Joshua was probably right he still tried to make sense of the ordinaries actions. Biggs had given that up as soon as he saw the man's ridiculous actions during the siege in TC. The man wasn't rational, at least not to their standards, he had his priorities all wrong and he didn't understand them at all.

That's when Jondy came across the wire, sounding nothing like herself. "uhm guys, I'm gonna need uhg.." She was cut-off and the radio went dead. Then Zane came with his report.

"Mayday, need assistance. Wow Maxie, remember me…… Ma…." With a thump his radio went dead as well. All 3 transgenics froze at the sounds coming from the wire and sprinted towards the building. Biggs called up backup from his squad and was about to order them to move in when Chat's report halted them.

"Wait, according to the thermal scanner there's 3 transgenics inside, one moving and one stationary signal from an ordinary."

Renewing their efforts both X5's blurred to the front door with Joshua on their heels. Bursting through the door Biggs' progress was halted when he was clothes-lined by Max's arm shooting out from the doorframe. As he doubled over to the floor, temporarily incapacitated with trying to get air to flow in his lungs again, Max turned her attention to the other intruder. Alec came in with more care but he was unprepared for the sight that greeted him. Max had completely retreated into her instincts. A quick glance around the room told him why. He could see the dark room that had obviously housed her for the night. Judging by the way the door hung askew from its hinges she hadn't taken to isolation well.

Not daring to keep his sight away from her too long he focused back on Max eyeing her with wary intent. The woman before him was all fury, her hair flung from her face her teeth bare and she was growling. Growling at him, the noise was terrifying to others but Alec knew he could show no fear or she would pounce. He saw she was poised for attack her weight on the balls of her feet, her head cocked to one side, she seemed to eye him with curiosity. He slowly raised his hand and although she watched his every move wearily, she made no move to attack. He signaled for the others to keep their distance while he looked for an opening to return her to Max. Before she had responded merely to his presence ad let him approach him but now when she approached her she growled louder.

Alec desperately wanted to avoid a fight, he didn't want to hurt her but he knew Max would have no qualms about hurting him when she was like this. He knew she wouldn't kill him, the heartbeats of her unconscious siblings were testament of that but he couldn't risk it. He needed to reach her, but he had no idea how. To his surprise Joshua appeared through the door and kept moving. Alec wanted to stop him but Joshua pretended not to hear him and walked straight up to Max. He took her in his arms and started humming the way he did to Sam when the little guy was having a nightmare.

Biggs was making sure he seemed non-threatening while he was slowly making his way to his squad mates lying in a corner, as though they had been tossed there. Checking both of them he was relieved to find them breathing. Taking Jondy's head in his lap he began softly stroking her head to comfort her. He kept one eye directed at the scene in front of him though, poised to defend his fallen mates should the need arise. At the moment Joshua seemed to have everything under control while Alec was looking on with concern etched on his face.

Joshua was still holding Max and the brunette was no longer growling, but Alec could still see the predator in her eyes. Joshua motioned for Alec to come closer but when he stepped forward, Max placed herself between Joshua and Alec and growled at him again. Patiently Johsua took her hand and looked at Max, his eyes filled with compassion.

" No little fella, Alec is good, here smell him he smell just like Joshua." Joshua grabbed Alec's hand and held it out for Max to smell. Max leaned forward to hesitantly smell the hand offered to her then quickly retreated and looked up a Joshua. Joshua just nodded encouragingly and motioned her to sniff again, this time he let go of Alec's hand. Max sniffed his hand again and using one finger she turned his hand over to smell the inside. Alec strained to keep his hadn perfectly still while Max inspected him. She looked back at Joshua who nodded again. She placed her cheek in Alec's hand and rubbed quickly the way a cat would trying to spread it's scent.

Although it was killing him Alec still stood perfectly motionless, while Max crept in closer still sniffing the air. She moved with such grace and fluency that Alec flet like he was watching a puma or a mountain cat in the small woman now trailing him. He felt like she had never looked more beautiful, or dangerous before and his heart yearned for her to touch him again. Almost like she knew what he was thinking she touched his other arm with one finger, nudging it. He lifted his hand a little and Max rubbed her face in the inside of his hand. Then almost startled by her own bravery the scooted back to Joshua.

It didn't take her long however to regain her composure and she surveid the room again paying axtra attention to the blonde X5 standing beside Joshua looking like the Alpha male he was. Alec was riveted by the actions of the beautiful woman surveying her surroundings, he had always been aware of the animal instincts inside him. Although he'd learned to make the most of his enhanced abilities, his training had suppressed most of the animal urges and instincts that came with his abilities. Most of the transgenics had used the past year to experiment with the instincts but they had been afraid of what happened when they weren't in control. To see them so publicly displayed was mind-blowing, especially since Mac hadn't once apologized for them. Max the same woman who had once wanted to be normal so badly she'd turned her back on her own kind in her struggle. Now however she was more in tune with them and she acted more like a true transgenic than him in some ways.

Hearing a muffled groan coming from the other room Alec's attention shifted to the door. Max visibly stiffened, her entire body language shifting from relaxed to tense and poised for attack. Alec couldn't be more surprised when he saw Logan appear with torn clothes, clutching his head and ribs while trying to get up. Biggs leaned closer to the door without letting go of Jondy and hissed.

"Are you nuts? Stay down man, or lose your life."

Logan shook his head to lose the cobwebs and made another attempt to regain his footing. Seeing Max at the point of letting loose her fury. Biggs dropped his jacket under Jondy head and blurred over to the door. Without pause he drew back a fist and knocked the man out cold with one punch. He immediately lowered his head and exposed his neck to show his submission to the alpha pair. Max stalked over in a predatory sway and purred encouragingly as she moved. She extended her hand and Biggs scooted in closer to her touch, accepting her muted thank you.

TBC


	6. The road less travelled

Chapter 6  
A/N: I owe Lyra a big thanks for making this story make more sense. Also, I want to thank Lusmeitli for her inspiring reviews. You really make my muse dance circles in my head and make me want to write more. Now let's get on this the story….

The road less travelled

The next morning Max decided she'd had enough of the small room and ducked out the window. Climbing down the building using window ledges, a rain pipe and the fire escape she landed on her feet and moved with catlike sway to the training area. She needed some exercise and she thought the gym was a good place to start. Dalton was on his way to training when he saw Max heading towards the gym. He hadn't had the chance to speak to her since her latest return, he assumed she was doing better now that she was out and he followed her to the gym.

Max knew she was being followed but the meeker X6 was hardly a threat and so she let him trail her. She was going to have some fun today and no one was going to stop her.

In Command, Chat was informed about the triggered alarm on the fire escape and pulled the video footage to find out the problem. Since the fire exits hadn't been opened he assumed it was a glitch but one could never be too careful. Especially since they were currently facing 6 foreign governments interested in acquiring a bioweapon. Chat held his breath when he saw a slim figure jump down the ladder and giving the camera the finger and a little wave. He paled, Alec was not going to like this, he swallowed and with a heavy heart he dragged his feet to the nearest radio. He pulled the rest of the security footage to track her whereabouts knowing full well that would be Alec's first question.

At his contact request he got a voice he wasn't expecting.

"Jondy here, Alec's comparing testosterone output with Biggs at the moment, anything urgent?" Sarcasm was dripping off each word and it was obvious Jondy was not appreciating the display in front of her. Biggs had been ignoring everybody all day yesterday, going off on his own. Now that in itself wasn't so strange but he had returned this morning, only to head straight for the training ground. Curious Jondy had followed him and that's when the shit really hit the fan as they say, and now she was watching two men battling it out in front of everyone.

"Ehm, you could say that. You might want to walk out of hearing range."

"Don't worry, Chat, they're so full of it right now, nothing could snap them out of it. Believe me I tried."

"Max is out, she scaled the wall and is now enjoying our gym and Dalton just walked in. Could you ask Alec to intercept?"

"I could……but I don't want to. I'll go myself. And, Chat?"

"Yes?"

"Send for a medic to come here in about 10 minutes, I think they'll need one by then."

"Sure. No problem. Chat out."

Jondy handed the radio over to a nearby X6 and told him to hand it to Alec as soon as the medic was done checking them over. The others were trying to sneak away unnoticed, not that it was hard. Both men seemed to see little else than each other at the moment. The X6 was surprised at the order but he shrugged and accepted it without question. Jondy sighed at his acquiescence; they needed to try to get more initiative into these kids. If you didn't understand an order you asked for clarification so you could adapt if necessary. Not standard procedure for Manticore but, as Jondy had known for over a decade, Manticore hadn't known everything. Especially when it came to surviving in the real world.

"Look, kid, Alec will want to radio as soon as he notices I am gone but I want a medic to check them both over before either of them follow me, so don't let them leave before that, ok?" She them looked at him sternly and added. "And next time you don't see any acceptable reason for an order while on base, question your officer for his reasons. You might learn something."

"Yes, ma'am."

Jondy dropped her shoulders in defeat at his mechanical response and moved away to run to the gym. She didn't know how much time she had. Max would not see the meeker X6 as a threat but who knew what her instincts decided when the kid came too close or if she decided he was bothering her. While on her way she did her best to push her feelings of anxiousness down, she didn't Max to be able to pick up on them. Jondy never gave much heed to what her instincts told her, she relied on her training to tell her what she needed to know.

Jondy slowed down while walking the hall to the gym and paused when she saw Dalton watching from the doorway. Making noise so she wouldn't startle him or Max, Jondy moved closer. Dalton glanced her way briefly before looking back into the gym hall, as she got closer he remembered his manners and acknowledged her presence by a nervous nod. He shuffled his feet and spoke in a defensive tone.

"Ma'am, I'm not bothering anyone, honest. I asked Max if she wanted me to leave but she didn't say anything so I stayed."

"Don't worry, Dalton, you're not in trouble, but shouldn't you be joining the others in the martial arts class?"

Dalton flinched as he remembered where he had been going. He paled and visibly swallowed. Before he could take off in a blur however Jondy grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Don't worry, I need you to do something else. I doubt there'll be a lot of teaching today anyway. Go to the clinic and bring whoever treated Max when she came in. Try not to attract attention along the way."

Jondy winked to ease any tension he might feel about her orders and released his arm. Dalton returned her look with a confused one of his own. He then nodded and turned without a word and blurred out of the building. Jondy grinned at the kid's antics and shook her head while moving through the doorway. There was no need to push open a door, since it had been missing for months. An unsuspecting X6 had been caught in the crossfire when two X5's had been going at it over the same female. The kid was blown through the doors and had taken them down with him. No one had bothered to put them back up.

Jondy could see her sister high up on the ropes near the rafters hanging upside down. She was obviously enjoying herself as she was fooling about high up in the air without a safety net. Max used the ropes as a jumping off point and vaulted across the room showing off her acrobatics along the way. Jondy smiled as she saw the brunette stretched her muscles, she realized Max must've felt enclosed in the apartment and had gone for some entertainment. Even in her search she had gone for what was safe though, it would be hard, even for another transgenic to corner her in here. Max had always excelled at acrobatics, even compared to the others in her unit. Jondy could see Max hadn't lost any of her skills, in fact it looked like she had picked up some new ones. The redhead filed that away to tell Krit, he was always the only one who could match her in the gym.

Without having to look at her watch Jondy knew almost 10 minutes had passed since she left the sparring ground. She was expecting the men any minute now but she was hoping the medic would beat them to the punch. Somehow she didn't think the testosterone from the match would have dissipated already, and she had no idea how Max would react to it. It had made her irritated, but Jondy was quite sure that was more her humanity than anything else. She knew all about mate fighting but she never thought Biggs would dismiss her for Max. After all, Max was another 'niner'. Jondy crinkled her nose when she thought of the phrase she had come to loath. During her first months in TC, she had heard it way too often as she was proving herself.

Straightening her pose she pushed away her thoughts of his betrayal and she focused back on her sister. She looked just in time to see her sister look back at her while she was suspended upside down from the nearest rope. Max had an inquisitive look on her face and seemed to be monitoring her closely. Jondy grinned, her sister reminded her of the cat Joshua had adopted a while back, that little animal would sometimes look at them with the same intent look.

"Wondering what I'm thinking, are you? Well, I'd love to tell you once I figure it out myself. I'll tell you one thing though; men are dogs, scum… urgh."

Jondy threw up her hands at her last remark and startled Max out of her study, or so Jondy thought. Then Max moved back to the top of the rope and watched the entryway, Jondy turned as well and watched the entryway as well. Since she had moved forward when she'd been lost in thought she was now standing almost in the middle of the gym.

She could smell them before she could hear them and her face wrinkled in disgust again at the thought of the sight she had previously witnessed. Before they could see her however she adopted a disinterested facade, she didn't want to use a mask. She hated it but she couldn't show Biggs how much he had hurt her, not while the feelings were still raw. She dropped it in amazement when the two men entered the gym. They were talking amicably with each other and Jondy didn't understand, how that was possible. Seeing her standing in the middle of the gym, Biggs opened his mouth to speak but Jondy held up her hand.

"Save it."

Seeing the determined look on her face Biggs closed his mouth again and dropped his jaw again when he saw Max drop down from the ceiling right behind her sister. Jondy couldn't help but grin at the matching looks on both men's faces and she sneered at them, pointing her thumb behind her.

"What, didn't think she'd notice?"

Max moved past her sister without acknowledging her, Jondy felt her chest constrict at what she was about to witness. Max's instincts were keen enough to figure out what had went on before and she was afraid she was about to witness her sister claim her mate. Jondy nearly crumbled under her own suspicions but she forced herself to watch. Even if Max would want to reciprocate his claim she would still have the right to challenge her, although Jondy honestly didn't expect she would, after he had denied her like that. Especially not with her sister who was still recovering from an awful trauma. In a nervous gesture she couldn't halt, Jondy swept her hair across one shoulder and watched in horror as Max came closer to the men, who seemed to be frozen to the spot. Max stalked around both of them in a large circle, while she seemed to try to make sense of what her senses were telling her.

Seemingly coming to a conclusion she halted in front of Alec and began to hiss softly. She prowled around him again and stopped behind him, the hissing sound increased in volume and both Alec and Biggs seemed more concerned with what was happening. Although Jondy was happy that Max was ignoring Biggs at the moment, she was confused why the brunette seemed so upset at Alec. She was fairly certain Alec had been in love with Max, so she didn't see why Max would be upset with Alec for fighting Biggs for the right to court her.

Alec kept completely still and refrained from making any sudden movements while Biggs seemed to move away slightly but keeping a ready stance to come to his friend's aid, should Max choose to attack. Jondy decided she needed to do something to diffuse the situation somehow, or at the very least stall till the medic would show up. Adding to her confusion was the fact that Biggs seemed to be moving in her line of sight to Max, protecting her with his body. Why would she need protecting from his intended mate. The thought of that still took the wind out of her and she desperately wanted to hit something, or someone. Narrowing her eyes at Biggs she decided he would make for a nice distraction.

Biggs meanwhile didn't realize the danger he was getting into when he turned his back to Jondy, he had every intention to protect her from another altercation with her sibling. In the back of his mind he felt the need to smirk however, after Jondy had left Alec had managed to convince him that his only interest was Max and by the looks of things Max was feeling the same way. She looked very upset at the idea that he had been challenged as a potential mate. Before he could continue that thought however he was struck on the back of his head without warning.

Jondy hadn't dealt him a hard blow she merely intended to get his attention. Judging by the way he whirled around to face her she would say she had it.

"Oh, have you attention now, do I?"

At that Biggs clenched his teeth and hissed "You have my undivided attention, what is on your mind?"

Jondy didn't bother with a response, instead she took on an offensive stance and blurred in for a jump kick to his head. Biggs parried it and tried to pin her so she couldn't attack again. Jondy danced out of reach and in doing so checked to see if she had gotten Max's attention. Max was still eying Alec but she was watching the spectacle Jondy was putting on as well. Jondy doubled her efforts and moved back in for a combination of a jab and a sweep kick. Biggs parried her move again and tried to catch her leg. She hooked it behind his ankle and shoved him with one hand.

Biggs almost lost his balance, recovering at the last instance. Jondy took that opportunity to summersault away from him. Catching the rope with one hand, she pulled it back with her in one fluent move. Jumping up she let it swing back with her halfway up the rope. As it swept past Biggs she slit down a ways and nicked the top of his head with her foot. Glaring at her, Biggs grabbed the end of the rope before it swung out of reach and shook the end. Jondy could feel the ripple move through the rope and she clenched the rope, hoping her hold would keep. Gymnastics had never been her strong suit, compared to the others. She was better suited with ground beneath her feet. She did see Max just perform a move she thought she was capable of doing as well. Quickly moving up the rope she tensed her muscles and pushed off, vaulted over their heads, she pushed off a wall with both feet halfway down and twisted in the air to land in all fours. Her head snapped up and she hissed at Biggs in a low voice.

"Think you can take me? Gotta catch me first."

She then quickly glanced at Max and saw she had the woman's full attention. She could tell Alec was whispering something at her but she was too busy with keeping her senses on Biggs to catch what he was saying. Biggs meanwhile was pissed as hell. Alec might not be interested in her but why would Jondy be so upset, she should be flattered he was willing to fight his best friend for her. And she had hit him while he was trying to protect her, which really got him even more than the fact that she was taunting him. Despite all that he still didn't really want to hurt her, she had just gotten out of the clinic. He suddenly remembered what Alec had once said before Max had disappeared. Sometimes it was just easier to let them have their rant and then move on.

Biggs stood up and moved over to Jondy both palms up and extended.

"Uncle?"

Jondy didn't expect that, she wanted to stay angry but that was impossible when he looked at her with that look in his eyes. The look that told her he didn't want to fight, but at the same time daring her to stay mad. It was exactly that little mischievous glint that made her anger dissipate in the wind. She bit the inside of her lip to keep from smiling like a lovesick puppy. The anger faded but her hurt over him choosing Max over her stayed and it was that feeling that helped her keep her resolve. She nodded but made no move to shake his hand. She turned on her heels and left him standing there, on the way out she nodded at the medic and smiled when she saw Sam standing in the hallway.

"Hi, Sam, what have you been up to?"

Sam moved closer to get his hug from his aunt. Jondy spread her arms wide and Sam jumped up into them without pause. He clamped his arms around her neck and buried his face into her throat. Feeling safe like that he responded to the question Jondy had asked him.

"Star asked me to come here, she said my mommy's sister was here and needed my help."

Hearing that, Jondy looked over to the medic that stood in the doorway watching the scene inside the gym. Star nodded without looking back.

"We're hoping the connection with Sam's son will help her rediscover there are things worth coming back for. Convince her that there are people here that need her, so that she'll want to confront her fears to help them."

Meanwhile inside the gym Max and Alec were still facing each other and although Max didn't look as tense as she had been before she wasn't the poster girl for relaxed either. Alec was still trying to convince her that it wasn't the way she thought, though since he wasn't sure exactly what she was thinking that wasn't entirely true. One thing was for sure though, she obviously thought he had done something wrong, now he was sure he hadn't done anything wrong. The fault lay with Biggs entirely but that men had his own problems and Alec wasn't sure Biggs would be able or willing to explain it in a way to get him off the hook with Max. He wasn't quite sure what spurred Jondy to start her fight with Biggs but he was grateful for the distraction. As she was adequately occupied he had whispered an explanation to Max that seemed to appease her. She still looked at him with guarded eyes though and Alec was sure this little incident had just widened the gap between them.

Max's actions assured him that her cycle was approaching and that she was looking for a potential mate. Although he had no intention to acknowledge her claim as she was she wasn't going to let her go to someone else either. She needed to start trusting them and him again but he had no idea how to bring that about. All he could do was be there for her, which was exactly what he was doing. But he knew with depressing certainty that it wouldn't be enough. And he could even understand why, she had to give up a lot of herself to survive her captivity, and to then be betrayed by the one person she trusted with her life.

Now they stood opposite to each other as adversaries and Alec couldn't think of anything to change that. That meant a lot for a man who had previously been able to talk his way out of anything, aside from that little episode with White. But that man had a hidden agenda that Alec couldn't facture in at the time. Before Alec could open his mouth again he heard Jondy come back into the gym and noticed that Max's attention had drifted away from him.

Sensing her change in attitude Alec deemed it safe enough to turn around to see what had attracted Max's attention. What he saw brought a smile to his face, all the X-series children were dear to them but Sam was special to him and Alpha squad. The kid had become the mascot, at Sam's own insistence even, claiming they needed a good luck charm. Someone else in the gym felt an involuntary smile creep to his lips, Biggs was riveted by the sight of Jondy with the mini-Max on her arm. He was confronted with his own dreams of a family every time he saw little Sam run around, playing with the other X-series kids. Since Sam was in essence a orphan he had been adopted by all the members of Alpha squad, starting with Jondy and Zane.

Before anyone could make a move Sam had wiggled himself free from Jondy's grasp and stopped dead centre in front of Max who gazed down at the little guy with utter amazement on her face.

"Hi, I'm Sam. You must be mommy's sister. You're real pretty just like her. Will you be my new mommy?"

Max knelt down on one knee and looked closely at Sam. After what seemed like an endless moment, she spread her arms wide with tears in her eyes. Sam threw himself into Max's arms and squealed with glee when she stood and turned him in a circle clutching him close to her. He buried his face in her throat, much as he had done with Jondy and whispered softly.

"I'm so happy you're here, I was really lonely without a mommy."

All the adults in the room were moved by the words of the little child. But their jaws dropped when they heard what came next.

"I promise you that I'll let nothing happen to you, Sam, and I would be honoured to be your mommy." With the next words Max took Sam's chin between her fingers and lifted his face so she could face him, "But you must never forget your real mommy, she did everything she could to protect you."

Sam nodded solemnly and hugged his new mother fiercely. Putting Sam down she clasped his small hand in hers and together they walked to her apartment to get to know each other. They spent the rest of the afternoon there, just talking and playing.

Joshua arrived at dinner with a cooked meal and Max tried to keep the animal at bay but it overwhelmed her. She lashed out at Joshua when he tried to take Sam away. She scooped up Sam with one hand and backed away slowly onto a corner. There she placed Sam behind her and protected him with her body. Joshua was afraid to leave Sam there but confronted with Max protecting her territory he didn't know what to do. He didn't want to hurt Max, especially in front of Sam, and to be honest Sam didn't seem to be in any danger. He slowly moved to the table and left the food he made there, he then slowly moved to the door, feeling behind him for the door handle.

Only after the door closed and they were alone again did Max relax, Sam walked to the table and smelled the food.

"Mmm, smells good, mommy. I'll set the table."

After dinner Sam went to watch his favourite children program on TV, it didn't take long for him to start yawning. It had been a long day for him and he needed his sleep. Max didn't know all the things a child needed but her instincts knew what to do. She scooped up the child in her arms and brought him to the bedroom. She watched the entire time while he slept, occasionally brushing the hair from his face. The next morning Jondy came over with some of Sam's things. Max let her in but as soon as Jondy came too close the animal within Max unleashed and Jondy bade a hasty retreat. The next days followed a similar pattern, Max stayed inside looking after Sam and slept while he was at school. She seemed to be herself while they were alone but as soon as an outsider came too close she couldn't cope. Even Alec was unable to come close.

Until one night almost a week later, when Max slept alone for the first time. Sam had taken an invitation to sleep over at his best friend's house. Not surprising his best friend was Jace's son Max. Jace had dropped him off, when she heard about the base and had gone looking for Max's father. They hadn't heard anything for three months and everyone feared that Jace had been captured or worse. But that is something for another story.

It had been difficult for Max to get any sleep the last week, she fooled herself into thinking it was because she wasn't used to being responsible for Sam but to be honest it had everything to do with Alec. More specifically Alec's absence, despite her need to guard herself she still looked at him to secure her safety. It seemed strange to her that she couldn't last a week without his presence when she had done without it for more than a year before. But, her conscience chastised her, that was because he wasn't near you. Here he was available to her and she was fairly certain he wouldn't deny her if she asked. But asking had always been her Achilles heel, she could never actually ask of anything and the way she had kicked him out yesterday she wasn't expecting him to walk in of his own accord anytime soon.

She regretted her actions now but short of going over and apologizing there wasn't much she could do about it now. She laid down on the bed without pulling down the covers or getting undressed. Although she didn't expect to sleep she slowly drifted away in a dreamless slumber. Soon after, however, images started assaulting her, images she didn't understand. She was in a hospital room strapped down to a bed, her wrist and ankles tied down and her head locked in position as well. Max could feel great apprehension but she couldn't feel to shake herself away. Then she could hear voices, she could hear them speak but she didn't understand what they were saying. Next she found herself in a different room, this one with padding on the walls. Sort of resembling a time-out room she had seen in pictures of mental hospitals. But some of the padding had been ripped from the walls. She looked down at her hands and saw blood, lots of blood, Max could feel panic building inside her and she fought to control it.

Then her mind drew her back to her most hated memory, she felt herself floating in the tank, seeing nothing, feeling nothing. This time Max couldn't contain the need to scream and she let out a loud wail that seemed to last forever.

"Nnnnnooooo!"

It was no use, she was stuck there again, with no escape. She couldn't let her instincts take over when she was in there, afraid she might betray something so she fought her panic but it was too much. Tears flowed down her cheeks freely but in her panic she didn't notice that she could feel them running down her face as she screamed again.

"Nnnnooo! I won't betray them! NEVER!"

In her panic she didn't feel the arms that cradled her, didn't hear the voice whispering soothing words in her ear. Alec tried everything to rouse Max from her nightmare but she wouldn't wake. He then tried to console her so she wouldn't be so afraid but Max had passed scared and was in full-blown terror. Despite her flailing limbs Alec had managed to avoid serious damage till her hand suddenly shot out and hit him squarely in the eye. He groaned.

"That's gonna leave a mark, did ya have to do that, Maxie?"

He soon scooped her up again and bundled her in a blanket and held her close to him. He slowly rocked her in his arms and waited for her to come out of it on her own. In her mind Max was still in the tank but when she strained she could hear something, something that wasn't there before in the silence. She strained her hearing and she was sure she heard a beating sound and it was coming in a rhythm. She focused on the sound and it pulled her from the tank, she was back in the bed strapped down but here too she could hear the beating in the background and that made it less frightening somehow. She could hear the conversation again and this time it seemed a little louder. She still couldn't understand everything but some words came through. She could somewhat distinguish two separate voices.

"…..new compound works…"  
"…I wasn't expecting… destroy….creation."  
"…….flawed……."  
"……this one, she didn't even make……. wilderness test……"  
"…..new compound…… check on my grandson."

At the last sentence she suddenly sat up straight, eyes wide open. She couldn't move and she started to push frantically to free herself. Then she felt a warmth around her and she could hear the rhythm that had calmed her more clearly. Leaning back for a moment she realized what it was, she had heard a heartbeat. Alec's heartbeat, which she suddenly became aware of as his scent entered her nostrils. Unable to move away she cuddled up and filled her nose with his scent, gathering courage for what was bound to come next.

She lifted her head and was confronted with the sight of Alec's face very close to her own. Alec's face clearly showed the concern he felt for her and she was embarrassed by what he must've heard to have him come over. She felt a blush creep up to her face that deepened when she saw a reddish tint around one of his eyes. Opening her eyes wide she remembered her struggle to get free and stammered.

"Oh, please don't tell me I did that."

She could feel Alec's laugh rumble in his chest beneath her when he answered. "Ok, I won't tell you."

Max groaned and hid her face but Alec put his finger underneath her chin and forced her with a gentle nudge to look him in the eye.

"It's alright, Maxie, are you okay now? Do you want to talk about it?"

"Want to? No, but need to? Yes, very much so. I just remembered something important, at least I think I did. It wasn't very clear but I think I'm starting to remember what happened to me last year. I just want to sit here for a moment before we call the big meeting. Is that ok with you?"

"Do you think I'd object to holding a beautiful woman? Maxie, you know me better than that."

Despite the residual fear of the glimpse she just got she still smiled at his remark. She knew he was so much more than the egocentrical womanizer she had pegged him for before. But she appreciated his effort to make her feel better nonetheless. She smiled and wriggled till she got her arms free from the blanket. Alec lifted the blanket slightly and tucked it back around her. Max wasn't happy with that so she took a point of the blanket and tucked it around him as well, she then moved one hand around his waist and moved the other over his heart. Alec waited till she got comfortable and then rested his chin on her head and wrapped his arms tight around her. His mind was screaming at him to kiss her and claim her but he didn't want to scare her away. The memory of their last kiss was still on his mind and he struggled to keep his arousal under control so she wouldn't bolt away from him. Though she might not have been behind it completely the memory of that kiss haunted him and he desperately wanted to taste her again, but this time when she knew what she was doing. He knew full well the only way that was going to happen was if she initiated the kiss but to feel her so close to him with nothing separating them but two small layers of clothing was almost more than his battered self-control could take.

Normally Alec's mind was in complete control of his body, he knew better than to let that control slip for even a second. People got hurt when he did that, but the animal in Max spoke to the animal in him and his defences were weak when it came to her anyway. He closed his eyes and focused to keep his breathing even. When he could feel he had more than a shred of control keeping him from turning them over and seducing her, he opened his eyes again and allowed his senses to be flooded with her again. He revelled in what his senses were telling him and thoroughly enjoyed how right it felt to be holding her in his embrace.

In the meantime Max wasn't entirely oblivious to his struggle but selfishly she paid no attention to it, instead she let the warm feeling of safety and contentment wash over her. She knew she shouldn't be feeling this way that she should only rely on herself but it felt too good to lean on some one even for just a moment. She closed her eyes and let a small smile out. Anyone looking at her face right now would say she didn't have a care in the world. And for a brief moment, Max tried to pretend it was true, that all was right in her world. Too soon she could see the light coming out through the window, indicating that the morning had arrived.


	7. Afraid of the dark

Chapter 7

Afraid of the dark

A/N: Again much thanks to Lyra for her wonderful beta work. She's also in formed me this chapter borders on the edge of PG-13 and R. Please read at your own risk.  
A/N2: There's no heat here, I'm making an interlude just for it. It's on it's way, bear with me a little longer. The interlude isn't posted here, since NC-17 is barred from ffnet. You can read the rest of the story without it. All will be explained. If you want to read the interlude you can find it at NWP, just message me for the url.

Alec glanced around the room to see if everyone had found a seat at the large table. He had assumed that Max would want to tell as few people as possible and had issued invitations to the meeting accordingly. Luke was here since he was their in-house specialist on the breeding cult. Biggs was there, as the commander of the Alpha unit, but none of the other commanders were there. Next to Biggs sat Star, their main doctor, Alec had asked her to come since the main gist still appeared to be some sort of plague. On the other side of Star sat Mole who was chewing his cigar as usual. At the end of the table sat David, a new addition to the command crew but a necessary one. His specialty was international law, during his negotiations he had learned the hard way how useful it was to have someone around that could interpret proposals for their legal nature.

Alec started the meeting when he saw everyone was present, originally he had wanted to have a member of his counsellor team sit in on it as well but Max had felt uncomfortable with that idea. She didn't want anyone knowing her mind, now that Alec had witnessed her response to some of those memories he understood better why she had been so adamant previously. He knew however, that at some point Star would suggest that Max speak to one of their counsellors to help her deal with those memories. Alec had no idea how Max would respond to that, but he was glad he didn't need to be the one to tell her. Alec would never have considered himself a coward but he wasn't about to put his life in jeopardy when it wasn't necessary either.

Luke stood up from his seat and nervously shuffled the papers around trying to decide where to start. He glanced at Max and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw she looked at him with mild curiosity in her eyes. He smiled at her reassuringly and began by filling her in on the meaning on the new runes.

"The runes that were on your stomach were an opening, a sign to warn us of the message that was still to come. We had all assumed that the Cult would lay their plans to rest when we halted their plans at the coming. Now that there are fewer and fewer of them in seats of power it is harder for them to amass a full assault on us or the human race. But our intelligence shows that there is a power struggle going on in the Cult. These runes confirm that. They speak of a new plan but the details are not to be found here, uhm yet."

At Max's confused face he looked at Mole for help, he didn't want to be the one to inform Max of the power shift that had followed after her disappearance. Mole nodded at the pale transhuman and Luke sat down with relief etched on his face. Max shifted her attention to Mole while she waited to hear what had happened in her absence. O.C. had told her about how the transgenics had ended up on the base but she hadn't been aware of the other agendas.

Mole took his cigar out of his mouth and looked Max squarely in the eye as he spoke. "When you were taken we went to the natural leader, the one who had organized us even as you ereWERE in TC. Alec came up with a plan, and immediately put it in motion. He took over the negotiations with the ordinaries but send all the solo ops out of Seattle. As soon as we received solid intel on a member of the cult, one of those solo ops were dispatched to make sure the target met with an unfortunate accident."

The lizard waved his cigar to emphasize his point. "It was like taking candy from a baby, those idiots didn't know how to hide, and living among ordinaries had made them soft. Nothing superior about them. When the date for the coming rolled around a few weeks later we were amazed that there was no plague or anything resembling a shroud of death. Not like we could've done anything about it since our saviour was presumed dead."

Max cringed inwardly at his last statement but she made sure none of her emotions were coming through her mask. She needed to keep up her indifference, it was the only defence she had against her instincts. As long as she didn't feel any strong emotions she could master them.

Luke took over again and proceeded to explain their actions. "We felt that since the cult couldn't claim the transgenics are after them it was a safe bet. The cult was already after us anyways, might as well give them a reason, but one the general public didn't know about. Now, we've continued that practice till today but it's getting harder to locate members of the cult. Our biggest concern today is the cult member that is advising the president on the transgenic issue. We suspected him at first but he was cleared a couple of months ago when Brin infiltrated the White House and took out one of the secretaries."

At the sound of her sister's name Max glanced over at Alec, she didn't understand why her sister hadn't been there to greet her as well. Alec purposely avoided her gaze ad for a minute Max let her ire rise. She then remembered the purpose of this meeting and reigned in her emotions before they could get the better of her. She vowed not to forget it, however, and force Alec to explain.

"We have to assume that the appearance of new runes means that the Cult had a plan B that they might implement."

Mole lifted his cigar to interrupt. "I propose to increase security around the base and increase the training schedule of everyone on base over the age of 15." He lifted his hands as to defend his statements from a rebuke. "I know, I know. No one has to fight that doesn't want to, but it won't do any harm to prepare everyone just in case."

He looked at Alec, preparing to back up his statement with more arguments if he needed to be but Alec was nodding reluctantly. He didn't like having to force training on those that had chosen not to sign up with the task force but if the Cult was planning something new they needed to be ready.

Star choose that moment to make her move. "Max, will you please tell us what you remember, perhaps it will help us determine the nature of the threat we are facing."

Star tried to put as much reassurance in her voice as she could. Max took a deep breath, her eyes downcast, and gathered the courage to face her memories. She felt a hand move to the small of her back and was grateful for the silent support. She and Alec still had a lot to work through but it was good to know she could count on him. Even as the thought crossed her mind, she could feel her instincts protest at her assumption she could rely on someone other than herself. She muted the protests in her mind and faced the others at the table with a determined gleam in her eyes.

The others couldn't feel the battle raging in her but Star and Alec could and they looked at her with respect as Max fought for full control over herself. She then proceeded to tell them about the conversation she heard in her dream. She described all the details she could remember but she held the memory of the tank back. That wouldn't help them, she decided and she couldn't face reliving that memory in the presence of all these people, even if they had her best interests at heart. She realized that some of them, particularly Star and Alec would realize she was holding something back but she was hoping they would have faith that Max would tell them everything they needed to know.

Star nodded to indicate she acceded to what Max had told them. Max sank down in her seat relieved that it was over, at least for now. She didn't hear what else was discussed and just waited for the meeting to be over. All she wanted was to clear her head and she was contemplating another visit to the gymnasium when she noticed everyone filing out of the room. Soon the only people remaining in the room with her were Star and Alec. For a minute she was afraid that they would insist that she share her other memories with them. Alec leaned in close to her and took one of her hands between his, he kept his eyes down on their hands and she looked at him with a look of wonderment in her eyes. Star looked at her a moment and pondered the wisdom of what she was about to ask of this frail woman. She knew all transgenic were made to be strong under all circumstances but this woman's mind was fragile, as it was for most on the base. Almost all Manticore's projects that had been on active duty carried around heavy burdens on their conscience but somehow Star believed this to be worse. She could only hope that Max would prove to be strong enough to carry the burden of her experiences.

Star took another step forward and began the Herculean task of convincing Max that accepting help was not a bad thing and necessary. In the end Max grudgingly agreed to see them once and take it from there. She let Alec lead her out of the building and spent the rest of the day with her new son. To his surprise, she let Alec stay while she played with Sam and he sat down to watch them from a distance. After a while however Sam got tired and wanted to be read a story before his nap. He climbed on Alec's lap and looked at him with big eyes.

"Tell me about my mommy's adventures, please?"

Alec looked over at Max but she seemed to be accepting his presence so he nodded at the child. "First let's get you to bed, and then I'll tell you a story, alright?"

Sam nodded and quickly dribbled to the bedroom, shedding clothes as he went. Max followed him, picking up his shoes and socks as she went. Alec waited till Sam yelled out that he was ready and found Sam in bed with Max sitting on the end of the bed. Sam sat up straight and looked at him with such eagerness that Alec couldn't help but smile. He drew a chair closer to the bed but that wasn't to Sam's liking. He held out his two small arms and tugged on Alec's hand till he was seated on the bed, legs stretched out on front of him.

"Which story you want to hear? Alec didn't really need to know, he already knew Sam's favourite story but he asked because it was part of the little ritual between them. Sam looked up at the man next to him and smiled his biggest smile.

"Tell me how mommy defeated the evil prince with my new mommy."

Max frowned at that but she was intrigued all the same. She wondered how much Alec had known about what happened before she came to TC with Sam and her family. She curled up at their feet and got comfortable to hear the story as well.

Halfway through the story, Sam tugged at Alec's shirt and pointed at his mom. Alec looked down at Max and saw that she had fallen asleep on the end of the bed, curled up in a ball. Alec went to get a blanket and tucked in around her, when he looked up he could see that Sam had also fallen asleep. He pulled up the blanket around the little boy and kissed them both before he went to the living room. He needed to get back to Command and get some work done, those people from DOD were due any day now.

Meanwhile in the commanders building, Biggs called the commanders of the three other active units to his apartment, all came with their SiC and Jondy came over as well after dropping Sam off at Joshua's place. There they discussed what Biggs had learned from the meeting and adjusted their training schedule to allow room for the support personnel to train as well. Most were more than willing to assist the trainers in helping everyone get ready. No one could ever forget the training they had received while at Manticore but it was good to refresh that knowledge regularly and inform them of new procedures and tactics.

Jondy volunteered to go and inform all those employed by Syl and Krit. Most of the people in the company had left their other skills behind and focused their attention on Infiltration and Protection. So they were in need of training within a unit again, and Jondy would be the messenger. Jondy smiled when she thought of the sight of Krit when he was confronted with the fact that Max could beat him in the gymnasium.

After seeing them and informing them of the news plans, Jondy returned to Biggs' apartment to see if there was anything else that needed to be done. She opened the door and moved into the apartment without a second thought. Knocking was a foreign concept to them, the guards never knocked either and privacy wasn't in a transgenics's vocabulary. Despite those assertions Jondy was completely unprepared by what confronted her when she wandered in. The apartment was empty except for Biggs who looked at her with an amused grin on his face. That in itself wasn't so shocking but the fact that he wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing was enough to suck all the air from her lungs.

Jondy could feel a blush creep up from her neck as she stood frozen to the stop. Biggs looked on with amusement as Jondy tried desperately to recover the use of her mouth and feet. He was amused by the attitude towards privacy that all the 'niners' seemed to have. Holding the towel he had been using to dry himself off in one hand, his grin grew wider as the silence continued.

"Was there anything you wanted, Jondy?"

The sound of his voice penetrated the haze that was forming in Jondy's mind and she finally remembered to turn around. With her back to him she could feel some semblance of control return till the sound of his laughter reached her. Her blush increased and she started to fidget with her clothes as she waited for him to get dressed. She then remembered his question and answered it, desperately trying to keep her agitation from her voice.

"I uhm, I was wondering if there was anything else you needed me for."

As she finished the sentence she realized the duplicity of her statement. Looking down at her feet she silently pleaded with him to ignore it. She took a breath of relief when she didn't hear a teasing comment from him, but that relief quickly faded when she heard him coming closer. She was wishing she wasn't so susceptible to him, she wouldn't be able to hide her feelings for him if he came too close, and she didn't want to be dismissed by him. He came to a halt behind her and laid one hand on her arm and softly pulled her around to him, she still kept her eyes down. He put one finger of his other hand under her chin and gently pushed her face up to his. The slow rise of her gaze gave her ample opportunity to study his lean body, but she was relieved to see he had wound the towel around his hips.

Again her relief evaporated as she met his gaze, he looked at her so intently she found it impossible to hide anything from him. She let him see deep into her soul, hoping he wouldn't find it lacking as he had done before. She could see the mischievous twinkle in his eye when she heard him speak.

"I really like that colour on you, it matches your hair."

Hearing him say that she blushed again, and she could see his grin in his eyes. She was mesmerized by the look in his eyes. They looked at her unguarded and she could see the darkness that most of them had deep inside. But she could also see the fire of his life, and his humour reflected back at her. She knew for sure it was those things that had saved him from the harsh reality of Manticore life.

Keeping his hand under her chin, he used his thumb to softly rub along her jaw line. He couldn't help himself, when she was shy like this standing before him he felt compelled to touch her, reassure her. Despite his teasing, abruptness and denials he'd always known how she felt about him and was amazed by it. Right then, staring into her eyes, Biggs couldn't understand why someone so vibrant and alive would want to be with the broken soldier that he was. He might spend his time playing jokes, but he was a soldier at heart, feeling comfortable with the structure it brought to his life.

Unable to do anything else he continued to stare into her eyes, seeing the truth there, and his own turmoil clearly visible. Subconsciously his other hand, still holding her arm began a soft caress, moving up her arm till the edge of her shirt. Jondy had never felt this special or beautiful before, his soft caresses and intense look did more to undermine her carefully constructed defences than any passionate seduction would have. The idea to protest never entered her mind when he rubbed his thumb along her lip and she opened them slightly in anticipation. The tip of her tongue touched him as she wet her lips and with a groan Biggs' self-control faltered. He leaned in, ever so slowly, wanting to give her every opportunity to stop him.

Her honest look had hid nothing from his inquisitive gaze and deeply hidden beneath her desire he had seen the hint of fear. This was something he couldn't forget, it confused him since the Jondy he knew was never afraid of anything. His fiery redhead took on life with more courage than he could ever hope to have.

He touched her lips with his in a slow and deliberate caress meant to assure and comfort her. When she didn't withdraw he moved in and kissed her again, this time with a little more pressure. Jondy couldn't help but respond, she moulded her lips to his and returned the kiss moving a little closer to him.

Biggs removed his hand under her chin and moved it around her drawing circles on her back. Slowly he moved his head around to plant little kisses along her jaw and up her cheek. His other hand followed his mouth in a soft caress, enticing her to surrender to him. Instinctively he knew to let her set the pace, that if he didn't she would bolt from his arms.

Jondy felt her knees go weak under this onslaught of feelings and she let her hands cling to his body for strength. The warmth of his skin amazed her, his body was hard with muscles but his skin was soft and warm. Slowly she let her fingers wander up his chest, around his shoulders to end with them entangled in his hair. She took another step forward and moulded her body to his.

Feeling her all along his body Biggs felt strengthened and he pulled both his arms around her rubbing her back in long sweeping motions as he turned his attention back to her mouth. He kissed her with more pressure letting some of the passion he felt for her shine through in his kiss.

Jondy responded in kind, running her index finger along his barcode. She opened her mouth slightly and Biggs accepted the invitation to deepen the kiss, with languid movements he ran his tongue along her lips. Jondy felt his tongue along her teeth and she moved hers out to meet him, she pulled his head closer to her and curled her tongue around his.

The kiss seemed to last forever and Jondy could feel her body respond to what he was doing to her. Biggs released her mouth for some much needed air and looked for a moment at her gorgeous face. Jondy drew her breath in through her half opened mouth and kept her eyes closed. Biggs moved his head down again and lazily marked a path down her throat. Jondy moved her head back to give him better access and he nuzzled her to draw in her scent.

Thanks to his kisses and their closeness his smell now overlaid hers and his instincts told him how right that was. He needed her close, his instincts were telling him he needed her. Hearing the soft mewing sounds coming from her again Biggs couldn't help but smile, he loved it every time she did that. Eager to hear them again he renewed his efforts to entice her. He moved his hands to the hem of her shirt and cautiously slipped them underneath. He watched her face for any sign of protest and smiled again when all she did was lean into him. Watching her open mouth he felt drawn to it and kissed her again, this time letting even more of his passion seep through. Jondy felt overwhelmed by all the sensations he was causing in her. It wasn't that she hadn't been kissed before, but it had never been like this for her.

Jondy had always tried to keep people at a distance only letting men touch her when she couldn't help it. No one had touched her like this for over 18 months and Jondy had begun to crave it despite her fear. Her instincts told her she could trust him, that he would never hurt her, that he wasn't like them. The thought of them already made her tense.

Biggs felt the change in her and eased up on the kiss, making it soft and sweet again. That calmed her down and she started to relax in his embrace again. Willing his body to close down, Biggs forced himself to keep the slow pace and keep his kisses sweet, but it was hard because Jondy was so receptive to him. He wished he could just pick her up, carry her into the bedroom and lock the door but he knew that she wouldn't let him.

His fight with Alec had shown him that despite his hang-ups he wanted Jondy, longed for her even. Now that he had decided that he would take her as a HIS mate he wanted to do nothing more than to take her into the bedroom and never come out. He might not love her the way he loved Cece but if his instincts wanted her, why be a fool and fight it? He wondered whether she would let him take off her shirt again as she had at the clinic. He still remembered every second of that, had replayed it in his mind.

Slowly he moved his hands to her sides and slid the shirt up, stopping when he could feel the underside of her breasts. He rubbed small circles along her ribcage pushing his skin again her now bare abdomen. Feeling his skin against hers shocked Jondy for a moment but his hands were making magic and she soon forgot what this could lead to. She pulled back and, looking him in the eye, lifted her hands in a repeat of what she had done before. Biggs groaned softly and slid the shirt up higher, caressing her arms as he pulled it over her head. He dropped it behind her and laced his fingers through her hair and he slid his hands down her back again.

He couldn't wait any longer, he pulled her close against him and relished in the feeling of her warm skin against his, her soft curves pressed into him. He moved his head down along the column of her throat pressing open mouthed kisses on her. At the juncture of her neck and shoulder he sucked and left a clear red mark. Leaning back he admired his handiwork and smiled at the sight of this passionate woman in his arms. He needed to taste her again, and Jondy met him halfway, feeling her desire burning in her stomach.

He slid his hands up her sides and while one weaved its way into her hair the other wove a path to the front of her body, caressing her ribcage. In slow strokes his hand crept higher and he drew circles around a nipple. Feeling it grow hard under his fingers he bent down to taste it. Jondy couldn't contain her feeling inside and mewed out her pleasure. Biggs flicked his tongue across the tight nipple before slowing sucking it. Jondy pressed herself against his face and a purring sound came from her throat. Biggs smiled and let his hand wander lower, and lower to the edge of her pants. Slowly he snapped the buttons and slipped his hand inside.

At that instant Jondy froze and came back to reality with a snap. She knew where this was headed and it wasn't where she wanted to go.

"No, no…" Jondy gasped for air and tried to pull away from his grasp. Biggs could feel her tension and immediately came back up. He could see this was no ordinary changing of minds, but part of him was screaming at the unfairness of it all. That part wanted to lash out at her for leading him own, and before he could stop himself his mouth started to spew words he didn't mean.

"What the fuck? You just want to tease, don't you?"

Jondy's eyes filled with tears at his harsh words. She tugged herself free and clenched her hands in front of her chest. Biggs sneered at her attempt at modesty.

"It's a bit late for covering up. I've seen 'm now, you know."

Pushing away the fear, Jondy felt her anger rise at his remarks.

"What are you doing, shouldn't you be doing this with your potential mate?"

Biggs merely looked at her and leered. "I thought that's what I was doing."

"Really, then why were you fighting Alec over Max." She held up her hand at his incredulous face. "Please spare me, I was standing right there, remember? You tried to beat the shit out of him."

Biggs couldn't believe what he as hearing, she actually thought he was interested in Max. Why? Max was Alec's mate, well maybe not officially yet but Biggs knew it was coming, and probably soon. Jondy lowered her face and sighed dejectedly when Biggs didn't respond.

"Look I understand, everybody loves Max. I'll just… I…" Her voice faltered and she swallowed a sob, determined to keep her tears in till she had made it out of the apartment. Taking a deep breath she spoke in a small voice.

"Can I, can I have my shirt?"

Biggs was still recovering from the fact that she thought he had fought Alec over Max, her fight at the gym now made a lot more sense to him. Looking up at her he grinned as he understood and moved over to comfort her and explain. Jondy immediately backed up and dodged his hand. She whirled out of his grasp and moved to the other side of the room, picking up her shirt as she went. She kept her back turned to him as she quickly pulled it over her head. Glancing back she could see him looking at her with a thoughtful frown on his face. He didn't know what to say to appease her and he was also confused by her actions. She had responded to him but there was something else, something Jondy was afraid of. Biggs didn't know what to do, so in true Biggs fashion he did nothing and waited for her to make the first move.

Jondy's move was to hightail it out of the apartment, she didn't stop till she was outside her own apartment. Closing the door behind her she fervently wished she knew what to do now.

That night there was more than one transgenic pacing the rooms trying to figure out what to do when the morning came. Max was also wondering what to do but she didn't have anyone to go to for advice. Since Syl and Jondy came over frequently to check on Sam and they were her family Max decided after a couple of days to confide in them. Jondy didn't look too good either and Max believed she could use and a girls night as well. Max called O.C. and had her bring everything they needed for some serious heart to hearts with the girls.

It wasn't that she wanted to, although she was looking forward to spending time with her sisters. But she was running out of time, her cycle was due and she had no idea how to deal with it. It was hard for her to talk about her heat but she reasoned that at least her sisters had tem too and O.C. had seen her like that and tried to help her. Besides she needed to find out what was happening to Jondy, she was really looking like she was hurting bad.

Max shook her head at herself, before she would never have confided in anyone, she didn't understand why she felt compelled to have Sam's aunt over to talk. Every time she tried to back out of it however her body seemed to act on its own volition. Max nearly cried at the knowledge that she still couldn't control her own body with her mind. Control was one of her biggest assets but now she couldn't even trust her body to do her mind's bidding. Alec had been very understanding so far but he also kept his distance. He was there for her, helping her with Sam but he no longer held her unless she'd had another violent nightmare, like last night. Max could feel her body screaming for Alec, but there was still so much unsaid between them.

Max had discovered that Logan was being held on the base, waiting for her judgement. She was surprised, she had expected them to have killed him and the guilt had weighed her down. But Logan was alive, and she definitely touched him when she hurled him away from her. Not having killed him had her elated but the thought of Logan still had her fuming with anger at his betrayal. She had no interest in dealing with him and so she relegated him to the back of her mind.

That night O.C. arrived first since Syl and Jondy had extra training and she was instantly enraptured with little Sam. When Joshua came, O.C. quickly went to her box and handed him a new supply of books. Joshua instantly enveloped Cindy in a hug and Max looked on with amusement when her friend nearly disappeared in Joshua's embrace.

After the little boy had taken Joshua's hand and left the apartment, Cindy turned to her friend and spoke in a no nonsense tone.

"So, boo, you finally decide to get some help, Original Cindy never thought she'd see the day. Well, good for you girl."

The sound of Syl and Jondy walking in interrupted them, Syl being supported by Jondy as she limped. Syl was hammering on at Jondy and by the sound of it she'd probably been doing it all the way here.

"I swear I don't understand what you got with that man. He's bloody ruthless, look at me! I'll limp for a day thanks to that throw. Did he have to hit so hard? I haven't done hand to hand in months, being more of a B&E girl myself. Jondy! Jondy, are you listening? And Krit! Aargh, figures he only needed to show his tricks on the ropes."

Jondy merely shrugged at her sister's snide comments, it looked like she was used to them and didn't bother to reply. She just helped her in and went to the freezer to get an icepack. But Syl wasn't finished.

"And YOU," she pointed at Max. "Will you please take that man home, that way maybe he'd cut the morning run in favour of a morning rump."

Max paled at her sister's comment that was exactly her problem. Her running mouth got the better of her though and she responded without thinking.

"I'd like to but he doesn't so, sorry, no can do."

In the kitchen Jondy froze, Biggs wasn't in charge of the morning run, Alec was. So Max wanted Alec, well despite her relief, that still didn't help her much. Biggs still didn't want her, and besides if he did that would open a whole new can of worms. She moved back into the living room with the icepack that she put on Syl's ankle. Syl pulled on her arm to sit down beside her and Syl instantly turned and leaning into the armrest she put her feet on Jondy's lap.

"Hmm, we'll have to see about that, now pour us a drink and stop hovering, sis, take a seat.

O.C. couldn't help but snicker at the sight of these two strong woman being bullied around by the petite blonde. Still grinning she took the bottles out of the box and pulled several shot glasses from the cupboard. If nothing else, the alcohol would loosen their tongues and hopefully both Max and Jondy would let something slip. O.C. was happy to know she'd have an ally in Syl though; obviously the girl didn't let her sisters get away with anything. She poured the drinks and in unison they both looked at Max to start. Max could feel their looks burning and again her mouth decided for her.

"I wanted to ask you about heat, specifically how you handle it."

Syl grew the biggest Cheshire grin and spoke with her eyes glazed over.

"I don't, I let Krit handle it, and boy does he ever handle it."

Max grinned at her sister's antics but grew serious when she thought of Alec; he made it clear he didn't want to when she was in her instincts. But she wanted him to, very much so.

"Yeah well, what if you don't have a man to 'handle' it?" With this question she looked at Jondy. Jondy smirked at her sister.

"You do it the hard way. There's a place on the southside of the base where you can wait it out. At first a lot of women used to it, but now I'm basically the only occupant every couple of months."

"Yeah but how do you keep from running to the nearest guy and…" Max's voice faltered. And Jondy laughed but without the humour, she continued to scoff.

"Well, most men are mated here on base so that narrows down the pool, but usually there's a run for the most alpha male anyway." She grinned when a memory surfaced.

"While we were still at TC, Mole and I walked around with tranquilizer darts to keep Alec and Biggs from being…uhm… violated. There was no way we could let them disappear for 4 days in the middle of negotiations. Things calmed down when we came here, some females had no interest in mating and were more than happy to stay that way."

At that point Syl interjected, determined to weaken Jondy's defences. "And Jondy's one of them, although I have no idea why, her CO keeps making goo-goo eyes at her and she at him."

Jondy sent her sister an angry glare. "You know why, you saw me.. after… After."

"But Biggs is different, there's no way a transgenic would do that. You know that as well as I do."

"Yeah well, he might want children and you know what the doctor said."

"Jondy, sweetie, that man was an ordinary, we only needed him for the meds. What he said doesn't matter, didn't Star say you were fine on your last physical?"

"Star doesn't know." Jondy's voice sounded smothered. Max looked in with confusion but O.C. had a clear idea of what had happened to Jondy.

"Jondy, honey you need to tell him, let him help you. Original Cindy knows he'll understand. Not all men are like that, you got Original Cindy's word on that. Most men are dogs but not your man. He's one of the good ones." Cindy came to the couch and held Jondy close, then faced Max to dole out some more truth.

"As for you, don't you think you let your boy wait long enough? Talk afterwards, if you need to talk so badly."

Max spoke in a small voice. "But he'll say no, he said so."

"So you convince him, with a body like yours shouldn't be too hard. Boo, the man loves you and he waited a whole year for you."

Syl choose this moment to put her 2 cents in as well. "And, Max, you don't want to face your heat alone when you can do it with your mate. Trust me, it's the most beautiful," a naughty glimmer came to her blue eyes, "and lustful experience you'll ever have."

Max snorted and went to fill the glasses. "How about we talk about something else?"

Syl nodded and leaned in closer to the others. "Have you heard the latest rumour, …"

The remainder of the evening was spent with good humour and ended late, or really early, however you want to look at it.

Max only got a few hours of sleep and those were filled with some very erotic images of Alec and the things she wanted to do to him. When she first woke up the following morning she thought it was because of the talk they had yesterday but then another mental image flew by and Max's knees nearly buckled.

"Ooohh, no. I'm in heat."


	8. This calls for a celebration

Chapter 8

This calls for a celebration

A/N: To continue the story this chapter picks up on the day that Max's heat starts. She goes to Command to claim Alec, the first scene from this chapter is that scene from Biggs' POV, the rest is what follows while Max and Alec are otherwise occupied, and beyond. My thanks go out to Lyra as usual for correcting my blatant mistakes and nudging me to post it by assuring me it's good.

Command

The morning began as every other for Biggs except that he had a nagging thought that wouldn't leave him alone. 'I know Jondy wants me, it's written all over her face but then why? Why did she stop me, why won't she talk to me? Why can't women just tell me what they want instead of keeping me guessing? I don't deal well with 'vague' problems like those. At least our women don't ask question like is she prettier than me? Ordinaries can be so lame that way, what do they expect me to say? Obviously not the truth because when I said that I got punched, but don't outright lie either that gets you covered in beer. Aaarggh, focus soldier!'

Straightening his shoulders Biggs walked to their offices and decided to drop in on Alec. Maybe there'd be some news on the soldiers they were supposed to train. Biggs wanted to get the intel so he could plan a schedule. He had 5 requests for a week's leave on his desk for heat cycles. And even worse, they had discovered in the last few weeks that X6's had them too. Most X6's were between 14 and 18 and Biggs had several incident reports on his desk for mate fights between X6's. Freedom was great but maintaining a battle ready rapid task force when most men seemed determined to beat each other to a pulp was difficult to say the least.

Sighing he decided they would need to make some sort of command decision on it, hopefully that would structure the fighting and leave him with more able bodies. Another thing on his plate was the plan for DOD to have their men trained by transgenics, most wouldn't take kindly to taking orders from what they considered inferior beings. Life certainly wasn't easy on this side of the fence but Biggs wouldn't trade it for anything, his freedom was very dear to him. Gathering up the pile of papers he decided to see if Alec's weekly show had already started and take some of this up with him after it was over.

He was interrupted by the sound of the door and immediately the scent of pheromones filled his nose. His eyes immediately flew across the room to ascertain the origins and he was confronted by the sight of his lifelong friend standing frozen to the spot looking to the door with a look in his eye Biggs fondly remembered having for Cece. He knew only one woman could do this to him and he smiled when he realized that Max had finally come to her senses and had come to claim her mate. From the corner of his eye he spotted one of the youngest X5's moving stealthily towards Max and with one jump he was behind him and knocked some sense into him before he would do something stupid. No one else seemed to notice, so Biggs dragged him from sight and watched from a distance as Max circled her man, inspecting him. Biggs was assaulted by the memories of Cece doing the same. Although Cece had never been as alpha as he was he had always felt responsible for her as the youngest of their unit. When she came to him in her heat he hadn't been able to turn away from the look of pleading and adoration in her eyes and call in her voice. The short time that followed while they were together Cece had always remained amazed at the fact that she had managed to draw his attention. She had showered him with affection and Biggs had let her, content in knowing he had a woman who would never look elsewhere and that foresaw his every wish and desire.

Still locked in his memories he watched as Alec carried Max out and he grabbed the stack of papers that Chat was thrusting at him. He went to work with a reminiscent smile on his face and it never left him. He realized that although he'd been content in his connection to Cece, it wasn't the same as what he just witnessed. Max and Alec had come together as equals. Biggs could feel a pang of guilt when he considered that but he comforted himself by repeating she'd been happy with him. Later that morning he tracked down Joshua and had him deliver some food to Max's apartment. Joshua had seemed elated at the thought of both his best friends finally happy together and immediately started planning a party for them. Biggs grinned at the thought of how both X5s would feel about that when they came out of their haze, and offered his assistance with the organizing.

While at the mess hall he joined the rest of the Alpha unit and had lunch with them discussing the latest developments. Since their return they had been off duty, which meant they hadn't seen each other a lot since then. At present he was watching Jondy, back to her own irrepressible self, teasing their youngest member with the shiner he'd come in with. Ordinarily small nicks like that were nothing special but the kid had made the mistake of trying to hide it from his unit mates. Right now Jondy was enticing him into telling all of them the story. Although he didn't know the details Biggs had a strong impression it had something to do with Donna, the medic from Delta unit.

That reminded him of the scene he'd been watching that morning between Max and Alec, it had reminded him again how lucky he was to still be alive to see it happen. Life had given him more than a few close calls with death, occasionally even just scraping out of a situation. He felt blessed to be here now, surrounded by his friends forming a society of their own. He felt sad that Cece couldn't be here to see it happen as well, he promised her in Manticore that someday they'd be free. It did comfort him that Cece got to taste that freedom before she died. Being out here had been hard for her, however, she had put on a brave face but she had missed the structure that Manticore had provided for them and she was unable to cope with the fluidity of life on the street.

He always watched from the sidelines as the rest of his unit joked around together, he never joined in, didn't know how to be spontaneous like that, but he was content to watch them play around with each other. Soon, however, the time for training arrived and Jondy ordered the others to 'volunteer' for duty to train the X8's. Although no one expected the kids to fight on the frontlines, it was imperative that they were trained in the art of Escape and Evade. Most had received a little training already at Manticore but none were very proficient yet. Which meant they could probably fool ordinaries, since the 'niners' hadn't been much older when they escaped and evaded capture. But no one was sure they could fool familiars. No one really complained at the duty since it meant they could pretend to be kids for the afternoon, playing mostly hide and seek.

When Jondy returned to the table she saw Biggs was still staring into space and had barely touched his food. She couldn't help but to feel concern for him, when Biggs was worried about something he generally forgot to eat and that brought out the mother hen in Jondy. She quickly hollowed out a roll and stuffed some of the pasta still on his plate inside with some sauce. She tapped his arm carefully and waited till his focus shifted to her, when it did she presented him with the roll and headed out the door with Zane. Outside, Jondy took Zane's hand and they goofed around on their way to the obstacle courses, soon they were completely oblivious to the outside world, completely engrossed in whatever silly game they had made up to pass the time. Biggs watched them as he followed, marvelling at the closeness and their obvious comfort. Part of him wished Jondy could be like that with him as well, and that he could do those things with her.

In the locker room they quickly changed into their PT gear and moved to the waiting area at the start of the obstacle courses. Running various courses warmed them up for the hand to hand and special training that lay ahead in the rest of the afternoon. This warming-up and the sparring that followed were mandatory for everyone, however, and today was the turn of the support personnel to run. Most were still sporting bruises of yesterday's sparring but nothing serious had occurred so all were present for the run of today.

Biggs watched on with rapt delight and barely concealed desire in his eyes as Jondy stretched her muscles. Gem and Zane stood together a short distance away snickering at the scene. Winking at the fellow conspirator she nudged Zane and called out to Jondy in a mock-concerned tone.

"Hey, Jon. You've got a smudge on your pack."

Jondy bended down at the waist to check her bag from all angles and Biggs' eyes widened at the sight and he let out a small groan at the sight Jondy was unconsciously presenting him with. Barely containing their grins, Gem glanced over to Zane to check whether he had heard as well. Better yet, Zane was biting his lip and tapped his nose before moving to Biggs, leaving Gem in another fit of giggles. He spread his arms wide but focused clearly on Jondy while speaking to the X5.

"Are we admiring the view or are we running?"

Biggs glanced over and saw where Zane was looking; anyone else and he'd been in serious jeopardy of loosing a limb. Biggs merely glared at Zane giving him a mute warning and briskly moved to the front of the group to start the training session. Zane was trailing behind barely containing his mirth, every time he thought he had it under control he would steal a glance at Gem and they'd both start up again. While running the course they avoided looking each other in the eye. The rest of the training session went without a hitch but Zane and Gem saw clearly how both Jondy and Biggs stole furtive glances at each other when they thought no one else was watching. At the end, Biggs took off to find a shower before the progress meeting that evening over dinner. While in the shower he had some time to himself to think about things between him and Jondy and he had a moment of clarity. Maybe if she knew about things between him and Cece and how it was giving him trouble, maybe then things could go back to normal. He felt he owed Jondy that much considering Jondy had never been afraid to share things with him and he wanted to be able to talk to her again without feeling awkward about it.

Watching her from a distance had lost some of its appeal now that he knew all these intriguing things about her, like those sounds she would make when he kissed her or the feel of her hair as he ran his fingers through it. Now that he thought about it, he also wanted to investigate this bump he had felt at the waistline of her pants; most X5's barely had any scars. Even he only had a few, some from Manticore experiments some from his close encounter with an angry mob.

He wanted to know everything about her, since so much was still a mystery. Like how she made a living before she came to TC with her 2 brothers in tow. Fresh with determination and the content feeling that training always gave him, he snatched up a shirt that, upon quick inspection, was reasonably clean and a clean pair of jeans. He bounded down the stairs actually sliding down the handrail at some point, whistling away. Halfway to the mess hall he was caught up by Zane who had noticed Max had been missing at the session and demanded to know where his baby sister was.

With a sardonic grin Biggs told Zane to ask Joshua about it then entered the mess hall still carrying his tune. At the sight of him entering the room in such an obvious good mood most transgenics were wondering what was going on, Biggs never whistled or looked this happy for that matter. They were extremely curious as to the cause of such happiness but knew better than to ask. In the meantime, Jondy was sitting at their table giving herself another stern lecture about not letting Biggs affect her as much as he did. Wanting to begin immediately now that he had come to a course of action, Biggs headed over to Jondy the instant he spotted her, leaving a number of females disappointed behind. Most were jealous at the attention the 'niners' were getting. Oblivious to the stir he was causing, he pulled up a chair next to Jondy and sat close to her waiting for her to put down her papers. He waited patiently but when it became clear she wouldn't acknowledge him he softly called her attention.

"Jondy?"

Finally, when she couldn't ignore him any longer she lifted her head and looked at him with a sorry excuse for a smile plastered on her face. Usually, after she refused him and told him to go away he ignored her for at least a week so the fact that he was right next to her, drawing her attention to him surprised her. She looked for answers in his face and was startled when she read concern in his eyes; he was never one to let his feelings show like this. Biggs watched her with rapt attention, it had been only a little while since he'd laid eyes on her but he was finding it harder and harder to let her out of his sight without knowing when he'd see her again. He could see from her reactions that something was wrong and he was worried he was contributing to her unease. Feeling the familiar feeling of inadequacy creep up inside him, he quickly squashed it back down and hid those unwelcome feelings, even from himself. With a sigh Jondy looked back down at her papers, every time he hid his feelings like that it made her feel so rejected. She bit her lip to keep a sob inside and waited for him to leave her alone so she could pull herself together again.

He didn't leave, instead he sat next to her, waiting for her to look up again, when she didn't he spoke in the same soft, soothing tone he'd used before.

"Jondy?" When she didn't seem to responds he slowly lifted one hand to touch her cheek with the back of his hand and continued talking. "Jondy, I need to talk to you. Will you come to see me when this is done?"

Jondy shook her head without looking up, she didn't trust her voice right now. All she could think was for him to leave, she couldn't deal with this right now, just to have her hopes crushed later. Undeterred, Biggs pushed on hoping to convince her to change her mind.

"Jondy, I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. Would you please come, or if you prefer I could come to you?"

Jondy still didn't dare to look up, she knew that if she did she would lose all conviction and do whatever he would ask. "I…you can't."

Biggs decided to try a little teasing to get her to look up. "You should speak with more determination if you want people to take a no seriously."

That ignited her anger, her head shot up to look at him with fierce determination. When she uttered her denial her voice was clipped and she was barely restraining her fury. "Excuse me, I think no should be acknowledged as such no matter how it is uttered. Here is my report of the exercise. Please excuse me."

She thrust the stack of papers at him and Biggs barely caught them against his chest. Jondy flew from her chair when he stuck out a hand to stop her, and the chair flew backwards, crashing to the ground. Unaware that all motion stopped the instant Jondy had leaped from her chair she stomped out and headed straight for her place, without looking up once. For an instant Biggs was frozen to the spot, wondering what just happened, but he recovered quickly and set out to go after her. He was intercepted by Zane before he reached the doors, however. Shaking his head he muttered under his breath to keep the conversation between them.

"Just let her go, man. She'll come back when she's cooled down."

But Jondy didn't return that day, or the next morning, despite working closely together, Jondy made every effort to avoid his presence. Biggs' mood dropped below freezing when he realised that and the walked around with a permanent scowl on his face. He wanted to talk to Jondy, set things straight with her and now she was ignoring him, SHE was ignoring HIM. No one ever ignored Biggs, especially women, it just didn't happen and Biggs found that he didn't like to spend even one day without having Jondy's attention.

Meanwhile, Jondy wasn't having a great time either. She had wanted to give in to Biggs so desperately when he asked her but she couldn't risk being alone with him any longer. She had also done some serous thinking after leaving Max's place and had come to some very important decisions. Although she was thrilled that Max had decided to accept Alec as her mate and with that to accept her own nature, Jondy would never mate. She really loved Biggs but she was never going to let any man near her like that again. She knew with her heart that Biggs would never do anything to harm her, but even the thought of letting someone, anyone touch her, let alone mate with her made her retch.

All her hopes and dreams of a family had been crushed by that one week of her heat over 18 months ago. Jondy shed bitter tears that night over the loss of her dreams and she decided she needed to distance herself from Biggs, maybe then she could let him go so he could be happy with someone else. Because Biggs needed someone to take care of him, remind him to take care of himself when he was worried. She desperately wanted to see him be happy but the thought of seeing him with someone else broke her heart. Exhausted from crying and brooding she fell asleep and drifted to a world where she wasn't afraid of making love to her dark-haired love. The real Biggs lay awake that night, wondering how he could lure Jondy back to his side, angry at himself for spending so much time thinking about her but unable to do otherwise.

Though still worried about Jondy, the next day flew by for Biggs as he was trying to negotiate a deal with the DOD representatives. Obviously Biggs' lack of diplomacy ruffled more than a couple of feathers at the other side but at the end of the day they had a workable agreement on the table. Biggs was extremely suspicious of the determination and haste the government seemed to have with starting up this project. Ordinarily these negotiations took up weeks while each side tried to scam the other, now it seemed the first rotation would begin in 2 weeks.

Biggs turned off the lights at his desk and wondered what he'd do next, what he wanted to do was talk to Jondy but she was proving very elusive when she wanted to be. His ego wouldn't allow him to go looking for her again and he told himself to get over it already. Shaking his head he let his feet lead him away from his desk and out the door. He halted at the door leading to the security section, if he wanted to find Jondy then the security tapes would tell him where she was. He shook his head forcefully again and instead headed for the gym, hoping some strenuous exercise would help him to regain his focus. Starting on the machines he started a tough rhythm and never looked up.

Over the next few days while Alec was away Biggs got closer and closer to losing it, he could force himself to focus at times but mostly he just wondered about Jondy. This had never happened to him before; no one had ever occupied his thoughts like that. But Jondy had always been by his side before, as soon as she had proved herself she had been in his squad. That was it, he decided, he was just used to seeing her every day and as soon as he got used to not seeing her things would get back to normal.

Things didn't get back to normal, however, even after Alec and Max returned from their vacation he couldn't keep his focus for very long. He saw Jondy from a distance every day during PT and training but she never spoke to him once. Even Alec had noticed the second day after he got back and had commented on it to Biggs. It had taken all of Biggs' restraint not to punch his best friend over his callous remark.

Biggs' only hope, as far as he could see, was Joshua's party. It was planned for the next day and Biggs couldn't take it any longer, he was going to corner Jondy at that party and force her to talk to him. He needed to get his life back in control and she was the key to making that happen. Irritation at his dependence on her had left him for demure acceptance. He was sure, however, that if he forced her to talk, she would fight with him but then at least she'd be speaking to him again.

While Biggs was slowly losing it, Max was feeling the strongest she had ever done and she was determined to deal with all the stuff she had let go while she was easing back into her life. While alone with Alec they had talked a lot about what her instincts meant to her and how they helped her survive her capture. Despite that she lost a lot of her humanity along the way letting her instincts control had proven to have some inherent advantages. The least of which was that when her instincts ruled her mind she was able to use her enhanced abilities to their fullest capacity.

In turn, Max had asked Alec about how their instincts had been regarded in Manticore. From him she learned that the ordinaries just saw their instincts as a mean of controlling them, never allowing them to act on them unless it suited their purposes. Because of this most transgenics felt self-conscious about their instincts and didn't like dealing with them. Alec explained that most of them now looked at Max with a mixture of admiration and fear since she slipped in and out of her instincts. Now that they were both back to work Max had spend a lot of time talking to various people, asking them a lot of questions and training even harder to improve her skills. While training she noticed that the X6 series weren't at the level the X5's could attain and this worried her. The skirmishes she'd been in with the familiars guards while in their care had showed her their strengths. Most familiars were as well trained as most X5's and they had the added bonus of feeling no pain. Max was convinced they needed something to tilt the balance in their favour.

One morning a transhuman asked her how she had traversed the minefield so quickly, when Max explained how she had made a mental picture of the mines the transhuman was convinced she wouldn't be able to do the same. That made her realize the skills she had uncovered weren't as common as she thought. Particularly when Chat showed up by her side that same afternoon and asked her to teach him some tricks she learned. Until then it had been her who learned from them. It was very difficult for Chat to let go of his fear of releasing his instincts but the few times he managed his abilities peaked.

When she say Alec and told him about it, especially Chat's fear of releasing his instincts Alec recognized the potential of what she was saying and encouraged her to pursue it. This was one of the first things she would have to do and thinking about what she was about to do made her slightly nauseous but the proud look in Alec's eye when she took up her rightful position amongst the leaders helped overcome her unease. Alec was slightly amused at her visible unease; it was still amazing to see the transformation from the old Max who could do nothing but mope to this one. And best of all, she was his now, openly and for the entire world to see. He had just one worry, he knew she'd come to a decision on Logan and since she hadn't shared that conclusion with him it led him to believe he wouldn't appreciate it, whatever it was. He tried to block it from his mind, insecurity didn't suit an alpha male but he couldn't help it. Max had a track record of lousy decisions when it came to that man and he was afraid this one would cost her more that she realized.

As the last to enter the room Mole closed the door behind him and took his seat next to Star, looking less obstinate than he usually did. Alec let his eyes roam across the table, noticing only Biggs who looked decidedly worse for wear. He wondered if he had ever looked like that while Max had been stringing him along and hoped fervently that it wasn't the case. He didn't know how to help his best friend without ruining any chance of a quiet home life. 'Well,' he decided shortly after, 'who needs quiet anyway,' and began thinking up a scheme, while still paying mind to what was said in the meeting. Since he knew what Max was proposing, he spend his time gauging everyone else's reaction while part of his brain was still working on Biggs' problem as well.

Slowly a sly smile crept across his features and went to a full-blown grin when the solution hit him. He nearly hit himself, it was that easy, but he quickly reigned in his rampant grin before others could notice. 'Busted,' he thought when he felt Max glare at him, but not even the promise of dire recompense coming off her in waves could stop him from going over his plan once more to see if he had covered all contingencies. It was then that Max got to what she considered the hardest thing she'd ever have to do.

"As for Logan, I have decided," Max paused to take a deep breath, praying she'd make it through the next few minutes without causing irreparable damage to her new relationship with Alec. "I have decided to get him off this base."

She could feel Alec's gaze but she didn't dare to look at him, Max was afraid she would lose her courage. "We will offer him the opportunity to start over somewhere new. I don't want any ordinaries to have an opportunity to interfere with our plans. That includes Logan Cale." Max had looked at a distant spot on the wall as she spoke, she now faced Mole and addressed him directly.

"Mole, I expect you to arrange transport for him to a safe location, without any accidents." She paused for a moment then continued, "I mean it, Mole, no accidents or I'm holding you personally responsible."

The lizard was still looking at her as though he was struck by lightening, unable to utter a single word. That passed soon enough, though, and he opened his mouth to give her a piece of his mind. "Look here, your highness, I really thought you'd gotten a clue. Especially when you decided to take loverboy here, " he pointed at Alec with his cigar, "but you're off your rocker on this one. No way, your highness, get someone else to play lackey but not this lizard."

Mole then jabbed his cigar at Alec and ploughed on. "And you! Mr. smartass over here. You expect us to sit back and watch a traitor walk out of here scot-free? What's next, forgive your favourite familiar? You better change her mind pretty boy or…" Mole faltered, not sure which threat to use.

Max jumped on it and tried to convince him otherwise but Mole wouldn't have anything of it. He threatened to walk out several times but Alec managed to convince him to stay in the room. Although he couldn't believe what he was hearing, he'd always known Max wouldn't want to kill the man but he wasn't prepared to let the man go free either. Mole finally let off when Max agreed to see Logan with Mole and question him on his motives.

Max dreaded the confrontation she was about to have, mostly because she was worried what she would do. She wanted to seek comfort from Alec but she knew he didn't understand her motives and resented her for forgiving the old man, when she had never forgiven Alec in the past. Max knew all of these things and had wrecked her brain trying to come up with a solution, she was briefly tempted to let him down there and never think of him again but she knew that wasn't a solution. Sooner of later someone would get fed up with the ordinary and there would be an 'accident'.

When they reached the long corridor the others fell back and Max, Alec and Mole headed for the door at the end. Mole took the keys from the sentry at guard and told the kid to take a break. He turned the key and opened the door. The three of them entered the cell that Logan was occupying, Max remained at the threshold while the men took up flanking positions in opposite corners.

Max was waiting for a wave of emotions to hit her but nothing happened, she looked at the man in front of her, she could hear him pleading with her but she felt nothing, not even contempt. She was expecting to be angry, to feel hurt at his betrayal but she realised it didn't matter. She was happy now and in a place where Logan could never reach her. She looked at Alec to share her amazement with him and saw he had closed off his face from all emotion. Wanting to share her discovery with him she moved to him, to be halted by the feeling of a hand on her arm. She looked at Logan with a frown and shook him off then moved close to Alec. She stood there wondering how to make Alec understand that Logan no longer had a place in her life, that was why she wanted him gone. She could still hear Logan talking in the background but she tuned out his voice and directed all her attention on Alec.

Alec noticed with detached emotion that Max didn't appear to have any reaction to Logan and he was preparing himself for the blow of hearing Max forgiving the old man for his betrayal. He fought so hard to steel his emotions that he didn't register her approach till she was right in front of him. Curious to her intentions he looked at her and realized she was watching him just as intently. He could feel the rest of the world fade away as he directed all his attention to his mate. He could see a soft smile creep into Max's face and she held out a hand to caress his cheek, completely oblivious to the effect this was having on Logan.

Logan watched helplessly as he saw the woman he loved turn to another man and dismiss him completely. Now, a rational man might have realized his defeat and accepted it but Logan was no longer rational. He was convinced that given enough time and the absence of Alec he could win Max back. Logan raised his hand as if to strike the blonde X5 to provoke a reaction from them.

Somewhere from the deep recesses of him mind that never completely blanked out his surroundings Alec recognized the threat and delivered a decisive blow without even taking his eyes off his mate. Logan slumped to the floor as Max entered the circle of Alec's arms. She stood on her toes and drew his head close.

"I don't care what happens, you decide."

She pulled back to bring her face next to his and rubbed her cheek against to his in a loving gesture. She then walked away without giving Logan another glance.

After Max left, Alec looked down at where Logan was on the floor. The last time he was here, he'd been so angry it would have been easy to kill the man but now Alec found he couldn't bring himself to do it. He knew that he couldn't let him go, aside from being an obvious security risk, the others on the base wouldn't understand; but it had been a long time since Alec had killed a man in cold blood and he wasn't sure he wanted Logan to be the first.

Without looking at Mole he turned and walked out, he heard the shot ring through the hall as he was halfway and heard the lizard's footsteps as he caught up. No words were spoken between them but both knew it had been necessary.


	9. Get mine, get yours

Chapter 9

Get mine, get yours

A/N: A short chapter this time, I needed to set up the things for the next chapter. I expect it'll be one with several surprises. On another note I have my next project already sketched out; it'll be Alec at his finest!

Jondy looked at the petite woman next to her and couldn't help but smile. Gem had showed up at her door a few minutes before the party was scheduled to start with an outfit and had blackmailed Jondy into coming. When Jondy was honest with herself she admitted it hadn't taken a lot of convincing, she really needed to relax and have some fun. The fact that Biggs never came to parties didn't factor into her decision of coming at all. 'Yeah right' she snorted at herself, but with a shake of her head she pushed out her traitorous thoughts and headed straight for the dance floor which was only sparsely occupied. This didn't bother Jondy, she actually preferred the dance floor like this so she would have plenty of space to move around.

Sensing Gem behind her they both swayed to the music completely in tune with each other. Soon however people started joining them and Jondy was where she was normally , in the middle of a crowd having a great time. In the middle of a turn she could feel the hairs in her neck stand on end and she quickly scanned the crowd for that one face she didn't want to see. She couldn't see him so she shook it off and went back to dancing.

On the edge of the floor, in the shadows Biggs felt his chest constrict when he saw Jondy move around to the beat of the music. As time went on just watching her from a distance wasn't enough for him anymore. He needed her by his side, he needed her so bad it ached and he chastised himself for his weakness. Biggs had never needed anyone, he relied only on himself and that suited him just fine. His body wouldn't listen to him however, it clamoured for Jondy, for scent of her skin, the sound of her voice. He felt ill at ease at this party however but Alec had convinced him to come, something about being out of character to convince her.

His unease was surmounted by his feelings of inadequacy. He needed Jondy even if he didn't want to need anyone, but what about what Jondy needed. This night made it obvious for him again how much he didn't fit in with her outgoing personality. Shoving all those feelings aside he focused on his strategy, his goal was to talk to Jondy alone tonight and he was determined to achieve that goal. As all his subordinates could attest to, when Biggs set a goal for himself he would always be willing to do whatever it took to reach it.

Tonight that meant to do something surprising and out of character, when he saw Alec nod at him he made his move. As he headed out of the shadows for the slender form in the middle of the dance floor he heard the music change. Stopping behind the shape he had memorized in his dreams he paused to take in her scent and waited, he knew she was aware of him. He wanted her to turn to him, come to him on equal footing. Slowly Jondy turned on her heels and came face to face with him, with a look of surprise on her face. He drank in her features hoping she would not turn away from him again. Leaning in closer while holding out one hand for her, he whispered.

"Will you grant the wish of a dying man?"

Jondy gave him a lengthy perusal and said "You don't look like a dying man to me." At the same time she placed her hand in his and put her other hand on his shoulder. Biggs pulled her close, overjoyed at his success and the sensations of holding her in his arms. He placed her hand on his chest and covered it with his own, slowly moving to the beat of the music. Biggs brought his head down to her face and whispered softly, letting his breath caress her cheek. "I've felt like a dying man without you."

Jondy buried her face into his chest so he wouldn't see the smile that was tugging on the corners of her mouth. She knew with feminine certainty he had only come here to be with her and that before the night was over she would have to refuse him again. That kind of happiness wasn't for her but she so desperately wanted it that she couldn't refuse right there and then even though she probably should have. She chastised herself for letting him get this close to her. Biggs could sense there was something going on, that she wasn't all there with him and he prayed she would let him close enough to see what was wrong. This time he wouldn't let his ego get in the way, he was going to find out what was wrong.

Max was watching them from across the room and mentally sent her sister some strength, when she looked at her mate she caught him looking extremely pleased with himself for a fleeting second. Something dawned on her and she stepped out in front of him, blocking his view of the dance floor.

"Something you want to share?"

"No, Maxie, I have no intention of sharing you with anyone." Smirking he laced his arms around her and planted soft kisses all over her face till she was soft and pliable in his arms. Confident that he had distracted her he signalled over her shoulder at Zane. Max put her cheek on her chest and listened to the soothing thump of his heart. She knew he was up to something and somewhere in the back of her mind was the nagging feeling he was keeping something from her. But right now, safely in his arms she couldn't care, besides she had ways of making him regret not letting her in on his little plan.

Content she purred in his ear telling him she was going to visit the bathroom, sliding her hands across his chest in a tender goodbye. Alec mock-scowled as she walked away from him and he sought refuge behind a table. She was going to pay for that before the night was out, he smiled as he considered various forms of revenge. Meanwhile Jondy and Biggs were still floating along to the beats of the music, blissfully unaware of all the things around them.

On her way back from the bathroom Max bumped into Syl and Krit who were clinging to each other like lovesick puppies.

"Do you two ever come up for air?" Syl leaned back in Krit's arms and cocked her head while saying.

"Hey Maxie, if it bothers you look the other way. I think you can find somewhere interesting to look. And eh tell his lordship over there thanks for knocking some sense into his second. It was about time that guy did something for her for a change." Smiling at the idea of Alec as a lord, somehow even the thought of him in tights didn't make him look ridiculous.

"Look Syl, not that it's any of my business but shouldn't we respect her decision?"

"Honey if we'd done that you'd still be lusting after your man instead of taking him home. And secondly he needs some time off before I do something I'll regret."

Max knew something was coming but she had to ask. "Don't you mean before he does something."

"Maxie, sweetie, if that man doesn't get himself laid and soon he's going to drive us all insane with his drills. I am not about to let that happen, after all I, "She stole a glance a Krit, who'd remained silent during this exchange, "we have a company to run. Now shoo because we have a part to play in this operation." Syl winked as Krit swept her off her feet and carried her to the entrance, 'accidentally' bumping into Jondy along the way.

That jostle reminded Jondy where she was and shook her out of her reverie. She look up and Biggs and he caught her look at despair before she looked away. Jondy took a tentative step back, Biggs who was afraid she would run away from him now proceeded with extreme care. Very slowly he slid one hand from behind her back and took her hand in his. Very gently he whispered.

"Jondy, let me help you. Do you want to go?"

Jondy just nodded and Biggs steered her off the dance floor to one of the more secluded tables with one hand on her back. But when they got there Jondy looked at him and spoke in a soft voice laced with regret.

"I think I want to go home instead. I'll see you tomorrow morning when the first group from DOD arrives."

"All right I think I'll go as well."

Jondy gave him a feeble smile, she should have known he wouldn't let her get away so easily. It had been so much easier when he didn't know how she felt, now she had to tell him they would never be like Max and Alec, of Syl and Krit or any of the other happy couples on the base.

She didn't know to tell him they couldn't be together, not the way he wanted to without telling him the whole story. But how would he view her after he knew the whole story, she could face the possibility that he would condemn her for her actions that week, so long ago yet so close to her mind. Absentminded she walked to her apartment where she noticed the door was ajar, before she could react to it she was pushed aside and Biggs strode in casting glances about to identify the threat. Jondy waited out in the hall way knowing in her present state of mind she'd be more of a hindrance than a help. When he came out however he looked a little ashamed and that made him seem years younger.

"Uhm Jondy I think some people saw us tonight."

Intrigued by his statement and confused to it's meaning she stepped into her apartment to find it was glowing by the light of endless candles. She sighed, apparently her siblings didn't understand the meaning of the word no, she shook her head and spoke to Biggs without looking at him.

"It's alright, I sort it out with them tomorrow. They mean well but they just don't understand what.." Her voice faltered and she closed her eyes, hoping he would let it go. She felt relieved when she heard the click of the door closing but that relief was short-lived when she felt Biggs stepping close behind her. She shivered at the thought of what was coming next. Immediately Biggs' hands were upon her arms rubbing them gently.

"Are you cold?"

Jondy shook hr head but the feeling on his hands rubbing her skin made her shiver again, she could feel her body betraying her, wanting him despite her history. Jondy knew she shouldn't do this but it felt so good to be held by him, his scent filled her nose as she leaned back into his embrace. She felt his hands still rubbing her upper arms, the movement softening to a caress then halting altogether. Biggs stood still and waited, then he heard it; very softly Jondy mewed, he felt it more than he heard it. Thrilled he pulled her closer to him and his hand slipped under the fabric of her top. Relishing the feel of her soft skin he nuzzled her neck and murmured her name. Jondy moved her head, rolled it across his shoulder to give him better access to his neck. For a moment she gave in to her instincts let him soothe her and slowly a warmth spread from where they were touching. Quickly Jondy turned in his arms and buried her against his neck. Biggs kept one hand on her back rubbing in slow circles, while his other hand crept up her side to come to rest on her nape holding her against him with the softest of caresses. Soon that wasn't enough for him, he wanted to taste her so he lowered her. With his one hand he loosened her hair from the knot and sent her hair tumbling down her back.

Running his hands through it he moved it aside so he could reach that special place where her neck joined her shoulder. There was no sign of the mark he made there before and he felt an overwhelming desire to put there again. Top make it visible for all to see, he kissed her there, first softly then with an open mouth, sucked and nipping at the skin. He drew back and felt a possessive pleasure at seeing the red mark he made again. The need to taste threatened to over power her so he took her chin between her thumb and forefinger and lifted her face to his. Without looking in her eyes he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her thoroughly. Jondy could feel the desire awakening in her again but she wasn't worried, not while they were still dressed. She opened her eyes when he drew back and looked at him with such faith that Biggs was amazed. It brought him out of his haze and he pulled his hand from underneath her shirt. He leaded her to the couch and looked at her.

"This is not what I intended, Jondy. I was going to apologize." He smiled ruefully. "Doing exactly the same thing as what I apologizing for doesn't help does it."

Jondy couldn't help but smile at this. "There no need to apologize, we're both adults, "she swallowed before she continued, "I didn't stop you did I."

"And I would have stopped if you had. You're right, a no means no however you say it." Biggs sounded anxious when he spoke again. "You believe that don't you, that I would've stopped I mean."

Jondy nodded, and gave him a sad smile, she trusted him with her life. But that didn't change anything. She watched the man sitting beside her and allowed herself to dream for a moment of what it would be like to claim him as her own. When she saw his lips move she realised he was still speaking and she came out of her reverie.

"I know I've been harsh sometimes but I couldn't help it, I didn't want to feel this way. I didn't know how to deal with emotions, I still don't. I don't understand this Jon but I know that when you're avoiding me like you have been I go almost insane with worry. Please don't avoid me anymore, tell me what I need to do to fix it and I'll do it."

Biggs finished looking at her intently, waiting for what she would say. The next words coming out of her mouth would tell him whether he could fix whatever was going on. Then he could plan a strategy. Alec had told him that if he did something out of character it would surprise her into letting her guard down and giving him a glimpse of what was going on. As the silence stretched however, Biggs began to doubt his strategy and started to feel frustrated. Maybe he'd had it all wrong, maybe she didn't really want him, maybe her cycle was just coming up and she'd do this, no he dismissed that thought before he even finished it. He knew Jondy cared for him, he felt their connection so why was she still silent.

He wanted to speak, urge her to tell him, but he couldn't find the words so he waited, he waited till the silence almost became unbearable. He lowered his head in defeat and felt like retreating into himself all the while cursing Alec for giving him such bad advice, right then he could hear Jondy's soft voice penetrate his haze of self-doubt.

"Just, just hold me."

Biggs was concerned with how grave her voice sounded, if he was Alec he'd known some light-hearted thing to say to lift her spirits but he wasn't Alec so he did what he asked for nothing else. Slowly stroking her hair he could feel Jondy's breathing evening out and her body going slack against his. He knew she'd be uncomfortable waking up on the couch still dressed for a party so her picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. Feeling slightly in over his head he managed to undress her with emotional detachment and find a shirt for her to wear. When he moved in to cover her with a blanket she grabbed his arm and purred his name. He waited till she was soundly asleep before retreating out of the room.

Making his way in the dark down the stairs he could hear the party winding down nearby. He was still smiling to himself when he opened the door only to find it was blocked. He pushed a little harder and heard a distinct grunt followed by a feminine chuckle. Biggs tried the door again and found himself confronted with a grinning Gem and Zane who was rubbing the back of his head.

"What the hell are you doing out here man, why aren't still up there?" Zane pointed towards Jondy's door as he spoke and he sounded sincerely surprised. For the second time that night Biggs cursed Alec and his plans, now he would need to explain his actions to someone who was more protective of Jondy than an older brother would be. This is not how he had intended the night to turn out. He bit out.

"Jondy's asleep so I'm going home.. Now if you don't mind?"

"Yes, frankly I do mind, didn't she ask you to stay?"

Despite his need of keeping his business his own, he answered him. "Not that it's any of your business, but no she didn't, she was already asleep when I left."

Zane looked honestly puzzled by this, he was tempted to ask the man whether he was sure but somehow that didn't seem like a good strategy at the moment. While he was still thinking of what to say Biggs made a move to walk around them. Quickly Gem sidestepped into his path and scowled at him.

"Are you sure, because if you screw up it'll be twice as hard to convince her to let you in."

Impressed be her nerve, Biggs stopped and actually considered what Gem was saying. Jondy had asked him to hold her, which he had done but then she'd fallen asleep, something that was still very puzzling for him but he figured she must've been tired. It was still strange though because he could never sleep with others moving around in his apartment. When he didn't answer Gem pressed the matter.

"Did she ask you to leave before she went to sleep? Or did she fall asleep while you were still there?"

"How do you know that? That she went to sleep while I was hold," he paused then reformulated what he was going to say, "while I was still there."

"Well then." Gem gestured back up the stairs as though that explained everything. When Biggs didn't move she sighed, some men could be so dense.

"Biggs, do you sleep when others are still using your apartment? Would fall asleep unless you trusted the person present completely?" Without waiting for a response she gestured back up the stairs and walked back to Zane. Without another word for Biggs she linked her arm with the tall blonde and winked at him.

"Walk me home?"

Biggs considered her words for a moment then headed back in and softly shut the door behind him.

A/N: The most wonderful thing has happened! I know how the story is going to end. I dreamt it last night and got up early this morning to write it. In the next chapter the people from DOD show up and Luke finally has those runes translated. Stay tuned!


	10. The Devil you know

Chapter 10

Title: The devil you know

Jondy awoke the next morning alone, she felt around the bed to confirm what she already suspected but her hand only found rumpled sheets. The pillow next to her had a funny looking dent however and when Jondy rolled over she could smell Biggs on it. Smiling she buried her face in the pillow, inhaling his scent deeply. He had been here and watched over her as she slept. Jondy nearly cried, she wanted him so badly. He hadn't complained after she stopped him, hadn't yelled at her for being a tease. He'd just held her and made her feel safe. Somehow in the light of morning she felt refreshed enough and brave enough to face anything head-on. Even talking to Biggs and telling him. But first came work, she was well aware that today was going to be important in determining whether the transgenics were going to stay on American soil.

Giving into her urge she inhaled once more to savour the moment then quickly got ready to face the day. When she entered the command centre she could tell from all the tense faces everyone was feeling the strain of having ordinaries back on the base. Jondy pasted a smile on her face and prayed it was convincing. She could see Biggs and Alec in the distance discussing the extra security measures with Mole while Max was giving a pep-talk to the assigned trainers. To accommodate the ordinaries they had only picked male X5's to lead the training schedule. She headed closer to Max, the last sentence of the pep-talk reached her ears and she smiled. Max hadn't lost any of her usual gusto and she was having a relaxing effect on the men.

Max had caught Jondy's entrance and immediately noticed how Jondy seemed more relaxed than she had been in days. Breathing a sigh of relief she hoped the two of them had managed to sort everything out. But as Jondy came closer Max saw no indication that Jondy was mated, intrigued the brunette cut her speech short and dismissed the men. She met Jondy halfway and linked her arm with Jondy, steering her to an office nearby. Max was determined to get some answers but one look on Jondy's face told her that this wouldn't be a heart to heart just yet. Max smiled in encouragement and shifted her attention on the day ahead.

"You ready for this?"

Jondy frowned briefly "It'll be weird having military personnel on the base but I'm more concerned for the others. At least we weren't there for the whole treatment."

Max nodded and let her eyes sweep the room till she could see Alec across the room. He must've felt her gaze because he shifted his stance slightly and tossed a look and a wink her way. Max could feel her insides warming at his attention and she let out a contented sigh. Jondy smiled, "I don't need to ask you if you're happy with the way things turned out."

"I never thought it could be this way, Jon."

"Well, you deserve it. You both do."

Max smiled and let her mind wander a little while she thought back on the morning. Alec was in the shower first, wanted to be prepared for the day ahead. Max had been up for hours and she was feeling playful. So she had cornered her man in the shower and despite his initial protests got exactly what she wanted to start off the day well. Thinking of her plans for that day she turned back to Jondy with a more serious expression on her face.

"I want to start with a new training regimen. It will be voluntary but I need a test case. I'd have Alec do it but he's got enough on his plate today. You up for it?"

Jondy wasn't sure whether she was in any mood to be a test case for anything but she could understand why Max would not want to ask anyone other than her siblings. The others must've had their fill of experiments under Manticore but would probably feel uncomfortable about refusing their returned-from-the-dead leader. She thought of refusing but knew there wasn't anything for it so she changed her mind and nodded. Before she could ask Max for any details the guards at the gate reported the arrival of the DOD group. When Alec heard the name of the ranking officer he couldn't help but smirk at Biggs. Biggs looked like he was having his teeth pulled without sedation and threw his lifelong friend a look that barely concealed his fury and chagrin.

"Well, we knew they'd come up with something, let's go and greet the man, shall we?"

Jondy signalled to Max they'd talk more later and followed both men out to the guardhouse to supervise the check-in of the soldier scheduled to commence training that day. She skilfully avoided drawing attention to herself but before long the officer demanded to be introduced to the Alpha team of their rapid response force. Jondy was well aware what consequence this would have. She had spent over a decade staying under the radar but now her name and designation would be known to the government. Despite her reservation against being 'outed' she felt pride swell inside when Biggs signalled for her. She took her time walking over to where they were standing and held herself in a professional manner, showing none of her feelings and halted to greet her nemesis. She acknowledged the man without introducing herself. "Hello, Lydecker."

Lydecker looked at the woman facing him and smiled instinctively recognizing one his 'kids', even if he couldn't name her directly. "Well, well, this looks like one of my kids. Which one are you? Or would you rather I guess?"

Biggs came to her aid and abruptly informed his former training officer. "This is my SiC. She will keep you informed of our progress throughout the day."

Jondy turned on her heel refusing to do more than merely acknowledging the man's presence. She signalled to get both men's attention and the three of them stepped out of hearing distance. Biggs was confused at Jondy's behaviour, never before had she ever shown her disdain for a man as clearly as she had just done with Lydecker. Alec had a better idea of what was going through Jondy's mind from observing Max but he wondered what she would ask them.

Jondy meanwhile was wondering how to approach the subject. She was well aware her statements would most likely be rebuffed considering everything that was at stake here but she wanted to keep something far away from good old Deck. Taking a deep breath she calmed herself and started to speak in an even tone. "Look I'm aware we'll have no choice but to admit Lydecker on base but I want him trailed by 2 X5's at all times. I don't want him to see Transsecurity or the children. I have no intention of turning those kids into targets and they'll be targets once Lydecker sees them. All he wants is some more of us 'special' kids to play around with."

More and more of the venom she felt seeped into her voice as she spoke, and both men could feel the loathing she felt for the man coming from Jondy in waves. Not one to ignore instincts they nodded simultaneously and Alec smiled. "I agree but let's make it transhumans. We all know how much good old Deck loves the freaks from the basement. I have a feeling even Mole will gladly take a turn if it means making our former CO uncomfortable."

Jondy grinned at the thought and nodded her assent, she moved away to arrange the security detail and missed Biggs' look of undisguised affection. Alec didn't, however, and it if hadn't been for the troop of soldiers nearby he would've surely enjoyed ribbing his best friend for it. As it was, he merely nudged him and directed the processed men to the gym. When they were all accounted for Alec returned to the command centre and focused his attention on the battle plan against the breeding cult. They were still in the dark about the nature of Max's reason for captivity and the location where she'd been held.

He was surprised to note that Max wasn't in the command centre ribbing him about keeping civilian casualties to a minimum but resisted the urge to look for her. These new runes were most likely another warning of an event they needed to stop and Alec was determined to make sure this was the last time. Humanity deserved a fighting chance and Alec wanted a little peace and quiet, at least those goals wouldn't contradict each other. Maybe after the last remnants of the cult were wiped out things would die down and people would forget about the super-soldiers living in their backyard.

Outisde, Max was leaning on the edge of the rooftop watching her old nemesis cross the yard to see his men engage in new hand to hand combat techniques. She waited for the familiar feeling of hate to stir inside her but her inner predator stayed quiet. It had determined Lydecker wasn't a threat to her or her loved ones, even if Max wanted it to be different. She got off the ledge and jumped to the next building over, getting closer to him to get a better reading of his scent. Still nothing.

She headed down the fire escape and landed in a crouch 10 feet behind him. Lydecker halted his advance to the yard and spoke without turning. "Only Max would be able to get this close to me without alerting me. I didn't realise you were still alive but I'm glad that you are."

Max kept her quiet and did nothing to acknowledge his assumption correct. Her instincts were at full alert and although she could sense his discomfort with Mole she could find no betrayal or danger in him.

"You really did always have our best interests at heart, didn't you?"

Lydecker smiled wistfully and nodded. "I always wanted what was best for you kids."

"We are no longer children, Donald. We make our own choices now."

"But are they the right choices, Max? How can you be sure this is right for all of them?"

"Doesn't matter, even when we make mistakes, they're our mistakes to make."

"Ah, yes. But, Max, remember that your special abilities will have consequences for your mistakes. Are you so sure everyone won't be happier back where they belong?"

"Everyone, Donald? Or only those you can use? No I think we'll stay right here, thank you."

"I do believe you are making a mistake. Max? Max?"

Lydecker listened for some indication she was still there and realised Max had moved on. He nodded again and headed towards his men to observe their training, he would try again later.

Max watched him move away from a nearby window and returned Mole's salute as he passed by. She shook her head to clear it from the doubts Lydecker had tried so hard to place there.

"No matter how hard I tell myself not to, that man still impresses me."

"Same here, sis. Same here. Now what did you want to teach me.?"

Luke busted into Alec's office with a stack of papers flying from his grasp as he stumbled on the doorjamb. "Alec, I've figured it out."

Alec ushered the man to a seat and called Chat in to summon a meeting as soon as the building was swept for bugs. Chat busied himself for the next few moments calling in all the people and replacing the security detail on Lydecker. Soon they were all assembled and Chat was about to close the door on them when Alec beckoned him closer. "Chat, if this is a strategy session I need you in here. We may need to act on this information immediately and you know how Maxie hates to repeat herself."

There were chuckles around the room as Chat pulled up a chair and Max mock-glared at her mate. She directed Luke to begin his rapport and leaned back in her chair to hear it.

"I've translated the rune you came in with, it means succession. At first I wasn't sure whether that meant ours or theirs since the rune wasn't exactly ancient Minoan. But in conjunction with its context in Ancient Egyptian mythology I've managed to determine that the breeding cult is dealing with a power struggle at the moment. According the Egyptian folklore if the leader of pharaoh no longer has the confidence of the gods he needs to be replaced by way of a sacred counsel. It is reminiscent of the conclave. The major players on the cult come together at a sacred location and do not leave until a unanimous leader has been elected from their midst."

Alec furrowed his brow and appeared deep in thought. "Alright, first order of business is finding that location. If we can launch a decisive strike at that time we will cripple the Cult, hopefully into oblivion. Any chance that location can come from research?"

Luke looked dejected. "It's possible but not very likely, it's a sacred place for them but the cult never left any records for us to find."

Alec nodded. "Alright we'll have to do it the hard way then. Chat, arrange that the good senator is back under full watch. I want to keep him in sight every minute of every day until he leaves for this conclave. Any ideas on the timetable we're dealing with?"

"Well technically they are without leadership now so I would imagine soon."

"Alright, Biggs, I want X6's only on this mission, chances are the good senator and his aides won't have pictures of them. Tell Jondy to leave her wigs at home, I'm not taking any chances. Mole, you and I are going to start strategizing based on several enclosed locations. I want to have a plan ready as soon as we have a location. Since there is no way of knowing how long this conclave will last I want to be ready for assault 5 minutes after we get confirmation."

"Alright, people, let's step up manoeuvres and schedule regular drills. Hopefully this will be our last main assault. I want it to be flawless. And our guests see nothing."

Everyone around the table nodded and Max watched as they all left the room making plans and preparing themselves with enthusiasm. Alec caught her watching him under close scrutiny and wondered what she was thinking exactly. He couldn't help but worry that she would withhold the use of terminal force and what that would do to morale. She had certainly changed a lot over the last few weeks but some things were hard to shake. It was for that reason that he was completely taken by surprise when Max took his hand between both of hers and looked at him with admiration in her eyes.

"You are a very good leader, Alec. You inspire people."

Alec basked in the approval he could see in her eyes and felt a warm feeling spreading to the darkest corners of his soul. The whole time she was gone he had chastised himself with thoughts of what Max would think of the decisions he made and now she was telling him she approved of the result even if she hadn't been the there for the process. It was enough to make a normal man feel giddy with happiness but to one with a tortured soul like Alec it gave him a brief glimpse of true happiness and filled him with a fervent wish to have more of such moments. He decided there and then that once the breeding cult was history he was done with anything remotely considered military. He was going to devote his time to Max and his friends.


	11. Do blondes really have more fun?

Chapter 11

Title: Do blondes really have more fun?

"Did I, or did I not clearly say Jondy was to leave her wigs alone?"

"You did."

"And did I, or did I not tell Max we needed to keep her location hidden from the cult?"

"You did."

"And did I, or did I not just deny them permission to join the surveillance team, as their commanding officer."

"You did."

"Then why did we just hear them report their successful infiltration?"

Biggs withheld a smile as he answered. "Do you really want me to answer that?"

Alec sighed and threw up his hands in resignation, while Biggs looked on in amusement. When Jondy approached him with her plan he had been more than happy to turn the decision over to Alec, expecting him to turn it down. He hadn't counted on Max being in on the plan and endorsing it, to the point where it included her.

Was the surveillance going to be a problem now that McKinley was going to an exclusive members' only spa? Well yes. And was it likely McKinley would use the spa to slip away to the conclave? Sure it was. But that didn't mean Jondy and Max would need to impersonate employees to keep an eye on the man. And what's worse, Alec knew for a fact Biggs was counting on him to turn both of them down. But he also knew for a fact that if he turned them down, he would've been sleeping on the couch for god knows how long. And their couch was not a good place to sleep.

So they'd gone. And now they were watching their primary target without immediate backup. Alec felt like cursing the walls but he knew he needed to have faith in their abilities of to remain undetected. They had a decade of blending in on the rest of them and it showed. Issues most of the transgenics still struggled with were second nature to those who made it out in '09 and Alec wouldn't be much of a commanding officer if he ignored that. For that reason, Zack and his Delta team were the assigned back-up posing as a high-school class on a science trip.

Alec blessed the X6s for having the ability to act young enough to pass as high-school seniors because no one suspected teenagers. Even with all the information out on transgenics the ordinaries focused their attention on the X5 and transhumans. Apparently they refused to believe the reality of child soldiers, despite all the evidence showing them otherwise. It was the one thing Alec was grateful for, since it allowed him the opportunity to let the X6's train out in the open.

----

Meanwhile Jondy and Max were enjoying the employee lounge at the Hills Spa and Superior health centre. They were gathering information on all the guests without ever taking a step out on the grounds to risk exposure. As their break ended Jondy returned to their room to write their first report while Max went in search of a secluded training ground. One of the reasons they had both volunteered for this mission was to train Jondy in the use of her instincts. Jondy felt more comfortable letting her inner predator out away from the other transgenics and Max was dying to get out and stretch her senses. This fact-finding mission was perfect for both of them.

Thankfully, after careful consideration of the consequences, Alec had agreed. Max smiled at the thought of Alec gulping when he realised Max was deadly serious about him sleeping on the couch. It was a good thing he wasn't yet able to use his instincts as well as she, or he would've recognized her bluff for what it was. Max took in her surroundings and was soon caught up in the beauty of the wild nature she was walking in. She was in a forest area with various hills sprinkled all around her, it gave her a funny feeling like she'd seen it somewhere before.

Breathing in the she could find no trace of chemicals in the air that was so common close to Seattle. The scattered trees provided good cover and the complex was far enough away from any town to keep nosy neighbours from visiting. It was too bad they couldn't have a facility like this instead of the one they were occupying now. It was great that they were running it but the place still held way too many unhappy memories to truly be a home for everyone. Deep in thought, Max continued to compare the old Manticore facility to her current surroundings as she wandered the forest.

Soon she found a clearing that was far enough away from the main complex to ensure security while Jondy mastered her inner predator. Clearing her head from all the confusing thoughts swirling inside, she targeted her attention on her immediate goals and decided this would be where the both of them would transmit their report from tonight and practise afterwards.

Not particularly eager to return, Max took a meandering path back to the main building. As she got closer to the group of buildings that made up the complex she headed to the restaurant building to report for her shift. Max put on her most convincing ditzy face and charmed her way across the room, using her grace to stay out of the way of roaming and groping hands as she served each table. Max could see Jondy was faring no better and was instantly pleased Alec and Biggs weren't here to see it. Repressed instincts or not, the sight of 2 transgenic males in a rage over, well, nothing really, would cause quite the scene.

Max swerved out of the way of yet another hand and smiled apologetically as she did so. She was regularly feeling a sudden urge to splash most of the men in the room with ice water, or tear their hands from their torso but she kept an iron control and kept her ditzy waitress face on at all times.

Jondy, however, was not faring so well. Having spent the last 12 months in the relative seclusion of an all transgenic society she was no longer accustomed to evading the propositions of ordinary men. Most of the transgenic males knew from her posture that she wasn't interested in pursuing any kind of physical relationship and kept their distance. Something which became even more pronounced when she acknowledged her feelings for Biggs. Even if she'd only done so to herself.

She was feeling her nerves get the better of her and escaped into the haven of the kitchen. It didn't last long however since the sous-chef 1 decided he'd taken a liking to the new girl and wanted to get to know her better. He thought it cute that she had been avoiding him after turning him down for a date and assumed she'd been too impressed with his title to say yes. After watching her navigate her way between the rich old men out on the floor he felt confident that a soothing compliment would loosen her up and warm her affections to him.

He should've realised that 'no', really means no.

Jondy heard the young man get closer and invade her personal space. She scooted further away from him and he took the opportunity to sit down on the bench beside her. "Rough night huh?" He moved his hands to her shoulders, "how about I try and help you relax?"

Jondy pulled up her shoulders and turned away from his hands. She put every effort into keeping her tone even, without a hint of a threat. The man wouldn't understand anyway. "No thanks, I'm fine really."

"Don't be like that, here let me help you."

Jondy smiled and stepped away increasing the distance between them. "No really. I should get back on the floor. The maitre'd will wonder where I am. Excuse me."

Jondy slipped back through the doors and headed to the bar area, maybe she'd be safe there for a while. The training with Max to help her make better use of her instincts was sounding better and better since Jondy was slowly feeling like she was falling apart. Losing control here, in the middle of a spa for the rich and famous would not be the best way to keep a low profile and it would certainly alert the Cult to their presence. Jondy watched as Max charmed her way along the tables and saw flashes of her instincts appear and disappear. Max was seemingly using them to keep the ordinaries from crossing the line. Maybe if she could to that to she wouldn't have to worry about getting too close to Biggs? Maybe if she could control them the way Max did she could really have something?

----

Chat was working behind his desk when a window on his system began to blink. He called up the screen and watched a dot in New York flash red. He dialled a number from memory and listened briefly before hanging up. He made a note on the appropriate bar and went back to his requisitions list.

Not 5 minutes later Chat noticed the same window was blinking on his screen, he rolled his eyes at the overzealousness of the agents but dutifully opened the file nonetheless. It wasn't the dot in New York flashing, though. It was a dot in New Orleans, which was now rapidly moving across the map to a location a few miles above Vancouver. Chat picked up the phone, dialled a number and listened to the message at the other end.

He swallowed and glanced to the side at the closed door of Alec's office where he knew Alec and Biggs were working out the new training schedule of the DOD people. If the New York target was indeed travelling to that area also then this could very well be the opportunity they'd been waiting for. As usual the timing could have been better. Everyone was expecting the gathering and the subsequent assault to begin shortly but if this information proved to be correct it meant the gathering was happening close to where the good senator was supposed to be relaxing. And that meant Max and Jondy were stuck in a snake's nest. And that would be bad news, very bad news.

Chat rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms like an athlete preparing for an Olympic event. This was it; this was what they'd been preparing for. He picked up his phone one last time and buzzed Alec's office. "Sir, do you have a minute? I have something here I think you should see immediately."

----

Finally having gotten off-duty Max and Jondy snuck out of their room and headed straight for the tree line. The moon was nearly full and it was shining brightly above them. Max wanted to curse it, because it was making very hard for them to move undetected but this wasn't a high security facility they were escaping from so she was probably being paranoid, she reasoned. Somehow the hairs on the back of her neck stood up, as they hadn't done during the day.

Using her feline grace to dampen the sound of her steps she followed the path to the clearing. Both women waited at the edge to check their surroundings before risking exposure. Using hand signals Jondy signalled the need to check the perimeter and they agreed to meet at the opposite end of the clearing in time for their transmission. Max discovered no one on her side and she hoped Jondy would report the same result when they met up again. When Jondy indicated an all clear they met a small way into the clearing and Jondy set up the radio to transmit their report via relay to their command center.

When Jondy received confirmation that her report was received, including the guest list she'd memorized from the front desk Jondy packed the radio back into the bag and sat back on her heels as she watched Max with an equal measure of hope and wariness in her eyes. "Okay, I'm ready, where do we begin?"

Max leaned down to put her face level with Jondy. "What I'm about to ask you is really hard, but I'll be with you all the way."

Jondy nodded and Max continued. "I need you to release your anger. The first time I connected with my instincts was when I relied on my anger to help me escape from an impossible situation." When Jondy started to shake her head Max grabbed Jondy's face between her hands. "Remember your anger at all the men who've tried to touch you. What did you want to do to them? Feel that anger and let it go. I will watch you and I'll be here to bring you back."

Jondy slowly nodded and stood up. She walked away from Max, closer to the middle of the clearing and closed her eyes. She let all the familiar feelings of that afternoon wash back over her from where she'd pushed them aside. Her anger started to fuel itself and she was frightened by its intensity. Out of habit she tried to clamp it down but suddenly Max's words rang back in her mind and she let go of another measure of control to her emotions.

----

Meanwhile Zack was still trying to get both women on the radio again. He was desperate to let them know Alec was on his way with Biggs' unit as extra back-up. He was afraid the unit would arrive too late and the girls would've headed back inside the spa already.

----

Completely unaware of the approaching help Max silently encouraged Jondy to unleash herself. She suspected some of Jondy's issues stemmed from her fear of her instincts and what they could accomplish. She felt the anger starting to come off Jondy in waves and sensed the potential of it burning even higher inside her sister. Max let her inner predator out, a feral grin now flashed and her eyes glinted with the same warning. She was hoping the predator in Jondy would recognize her and let go as well.

Jondy was lost in her rage and the part of her that contained her humanity cowered in fear when she realised the potential of her rage. It paralyzed her in fear and gave her instincts free reign. Jondy sensed the presence of another in the clearing and crouching down to present the other predator with a smaller target to zoom in on. She watched as the figure wandered closer and smelled the air to gauge its threat to her. Hmm, merely an ordinary. But wait. It was a male.

A male.

Her instincts roared inside her to tear this man limb from limb. He'd been trying to possess her, take from her what she was unwilling to give. He needed to be punished. Jondy let out a loud growl that seemed to startle the small figure. She ignored her sister behind her and stalked forward, emitting low growls to keep her prey from running back to where he came from.

Max watched in amazement at the transformation that her sister made from sweet, even tempered Jondy to this predator stalking the forest. In fact she appeared…Max froze when she heard the growl coming from her sister's mouth. That had sounded like a clear warning but it wasn't directed at her. Then she saw another figure quivering at the edge of the forest. It was the sous-chef who'd been trying to impress Jondy. Max felt like cursing the man to hell and back again.

Jondy's instincts came from her aversion to men, to have one this close to her right now was not what she needed. She was most likely going to kill him before she could come to her senses. Feeling out of her depth she moved closer to Jondy and emitted soft purring sounds to try and calm Jondy down before she could do what she so clearly intended to do.

Jondy felt her sister coming closer but all her attention remained on her prey. This specimen would do nicely to practise on. Ignoring the soothing noises coming from her sister she prepared to pounce on her prey. Tightening her muscles, she prepared to jump and landed exactly 2 inches from him. As she expected, he lost his footing and fell to his knees. A feral grin flashed and Jondy cocked her head. She sniffed the air, and felt satisfied with the smell of his fear coming from him. He had every reason to be afraid.

Max ran closer and attempted to come between Jondy and the cowering sous-chef. She was well aware of the danger of coming between Jondy and her prey but she needed to do everything in her power to keep Jondy from making a capital mistake. Jondy's attention twisted from the man to her sister and she sent out a clear warning to back off. Max could feel her instincts want to relent her position but her humanity kept her firmly in place.

Jondy growled again and Max answered with a soft purr, even though she knew it would most likely have no effect. As Jondy was about to strike Max could sense more people come closer to her position. She recognized the smell of her mate and her eyes went wide in recognition. Max wasn't sure if Alec could understand what she needed so she sent her need to him in a long growl.

When she felt 2 beings separate from the group she prayed Alec would be able to calm Jondy as he had done for her. Her hope was short-lived when she saw Jondy turn on the 2 transgenic males as soon as they broke the tree line. Alec gave Jondy wide berth and took up a protective position with Max to keep Jondy from attacking the ordinary still cowering behind Max.

That left the man who had joined Alec on his trek through the forest. Biggs looked on as Jondy stalked her way to him. Suddenly he felt as though Jondy had never looked more beautiful or dangerous to him before. She was stunning in all her glory and a touch frightening too. He could sense the rage boiling beneath the surface and recognized its need to be vented. But Biggs wasn't about to surrender his alpha position to her just because Jondy had some issues to work through.

Biggs' head was clear enough to realise this was going to hurt like a sonofabitch in the morning but hopefully it would also mean Jondy would give herself to him without reservations.

Well, now that was worth a little pain.

1 A sous-chef is most like an apprentice for the headchef, he's in charge of making sauces and preparing the plates. Some call him the crown prince of the kitchen which makes most of them act like arrogant little buggers who like nothing better than to hit on unsuspecting waitresses. Yes, something like that may have ocurred during this poor writers' career and it left a mark that needed to be cleansed.


	12. When you get knocked down…

Chapter 12

Title: When you get knocked down…

Alec wasted no time and dragged the poor man back through the woods till he could see the outline of the buildings. With a scowl he looked at Max and ordered Zack's team to take the man into custody. When everyone had cleared their patch of forest Max rounded on Alec, her anger seething beneath the surface.

"What the hell are you doing here Alec? This is our mission. What, you think we aren't capable of doing a little recon without our mates to protect us?"

"Maxie, when will you learn not everything is about your insecurities, but while we're on the subject. What the hell were YOU thinking when you allowed Jondy to go into her instincts like that? Your first thought should have been on the mission, not on getting her incapacitated in the middle of it."

"I was going to get her out of it soon enough."

"Right, and what were you planning on doing with idiot-boy over there? Dammit Max you know mission goals come before everything else. You know how important this is for everyone."

"Hey, I can do this mission and if you'll let me get back to Jondy I'll get her back and we'll get back to it."

"Not a chance Maxie, I'm not letting you near Jondy right now. Biggs will take care of it. He'll calm her down. In the meantime we need to come up with a way to salvage what's left of this recon mission."

Max sent him a glare for making sense, and for being right. Not that she was going to admit any such thing. Getting Jondy to face her fears might have been taking a risk, especially while on a mission but she'd been fine till that idiot showed up. "Fine! But I'm not letting you off the hook for this."

Alec watched Max follow the trail left by Zack's team. He couldn't believe Max would use her own sister to experiment with. Using their abilities to make them better than ordinaries was one thing but letting their instincts rule them as Max was prone to do on occasion, that was an entirely different matter. Alec closed his eyes to ward off all the unwanted emotions raging inside him. He could understand Max asking her sister to back her up, especially since no one else was willing to be experimented on.

He had been more than willing to let the younger ones discover more about their inner predator, mostly since they weren't half as dangerous as an unleashed X5 could be. It was true that Max had learned a lot about what it meant to be a transgenic but they weren't animals, not now, not ever. He whispered just soft enough the Max wouldn't hear. "Neither am I Max, neither am I."

He prayed Jondy would let Biggs bring her back to her humanity. Jondy would be beyond rage at having her prey taken from her and Alec sensed she had a thing against men in general. That would make it that much harder for Biggs to calm her down since he wouldn't be let close.

Back in the clearing Biggs was eying Jondy warily. Before their departure Jondy seemed reticent but subdued and Biggs had hoped her instincts would be telling her all the things he was unable to put into words. That was the way it seemed to have happened to Max, after coming back she seemed to have had an instinctual knowledge that Alec would be good for her.

Alec's stories told him he needed to assert his alpha status and Jondy would come to him. Unfortunately that wasn't exactly what happened. Biggs had waited for Jondy to inspect him but she had stood her ground, growling as he made any attempt to approach her. He didn't understand but as long as she wasn't moving, neither was he.

Trying to look unencumbered he glanced at his watch, he had 4 hours till sunrise. At first it had seemed plenty of time but now it was starting to look like all of this would take a while. Why wouldn't she accept him? Not that long ago she'd asked him to stay and watch over her so she could feel safe. Why didn't she trust him now?

Across the clearing Jondy was struggling with her own thoughts. She was fighting to gain back control before her inner predator would rip Biggs to shreds, or at least seriously maim him. Praying that Biggs would hold his position just that little bit longer she needed, she drew her eyes closed until they were slits and fought hard for her composure.

While part of her was ready to tear everyone with a y-chromosome apart, another part of her was crying in despair. This was exactly why she would never have a family; she couldn't let a man come close enough to hurt her. The fact that Biggs had somehow passed her walls without her realising it just made things worse.

Then a whiff of something drifted past her nose and Jondy whipped her head to chase it. It was unfamiliar but laced with something, without warning she took of in the direction of the wind, leaving Biggs behind in a stunned silence. It didn't take him long to recover and he quickly gave chase.

The next morning Alec awoke to the soft rustle that marked the parting of a zipper. Rolling his eyes while still closed he reached out with one hand and closed his fingers around a soft ankle. "Where do you think you're going?"

He could feel Max frozen in her tracks and contemplating the answer that would placate him best. He fought the urge to snort; she still had a lot to learn when it came to circumventing orders. "I was going to check on Jondy since I didn't get the opportunity last night."

Alec let out a small sigh and cracked one eye open. "Biggs'll take care of her. Meanwhile it seems you and I still need to have a conversation about security and the concept of following orders."

'He could practically see the hackles rising on her back as she spat out "Excuse me?"

Determined to see it through this time, no matter the consequences he continued. "You heard me. Look Maxie," he paused and began to rub circles on her ankle to take the sting out of his words. "Being a cat burglar is what you do best. Hell, you're in a league of your own, but this… this is something entirely different." _This is what I do best,_ he finished in his mind.

Alec took a long look at their tactical vehicle parked nearby and was still amazed at the ability of ordinaries to accept ridiculous explanations. According to their cover story the bus was the main transportation of a post-pulse band, which explained the number of people associated with it and the extra number of antennae attached to the roof. In reality it was stuffed with top of the line electronics and was filled with their best assault team.

Right now, hey were all inside waiting for his orders to begin the search for the access points to the cult facility. A cursory overview had showed only 2 access points and Alec was confident there would be at least one other located at the edge of the mountain. Today's missions would be to find that point and to get live surveillance to what was going on inside the mountain.

Having that last piece of information would provide them with everything they needed to move in and force the issue to come to a head. No matter the consequences the cult would cease to be a factor in their lives after this was over. It was just too bad that Max was suddenly so eager to but heads with him as well. Now that she was home and safe, why couldn't she be happy?

He shrugged the morose thoughts away and straightened his shoulders. Personal issues had no place inside that bus. They were all relying on him to make the right decisions, make the difficult choices. Schooling his features in an animated mask that would fool most, if not all, of them he headed in to face his responsibilities.

"Being contrary isn't always the best policy, Mole." Alec mock-admonished Mole as they were heading out last.

"It is when dealing with her highness, Alec. You should know that."

Alec chuckled, checked that Max was out of hearing range and shrugged his shoulders. So what if Maxie could do with some attitude adjustment at times, so could most of them.

Seeing Alec grin, Mole scowled and prodded a little deeper. "What am I telling you for, you actually like her this way. God, the princess has you wrapped around her little finger. Just know that I won't have her on my team. She's liable to rush of in some mad huff in the middle of the battle."

Mole saw in satisfaction that the last statement did penetrate and broke through the easygoing façade Alec was portraying, if the narrowing of eyes was anything to go by. He quickly saluted and pulled up the hood of his jersey before heading to the main parking lot.

It was time to move out, so a few calls and whistles broke the silence and the scattered groups came together and organized. Another whistle borke the air and Alec watched them fade from the parking lot into the forest. Quietly they disappeared from his sight and the blessed silence returned. Putting in the earpiece he sauntered into the forest as in going on a casual hike.

Smiling to himself he could feel a pair of hazel eyes following his every move but Max remained in formation and Alec activated his mike.

"We all know the plan so let's not dawdle. The objective is live prisoners to interrogate and make use of. Use terminal force in necessary and keep our exit open. I don't like nasty surprises," a chuckle, "they tend to hit me in the ass, and I'm not taking a bullet for anyone today"

Soon enough momentum was made to start taking on the outer perimeter, all were aware that once the first guard was taking out, there'd be a time limit on their element of surprise so all precautions were taken to eliminate most of them simultaneously and make the most of their time.

Though despising the need to lad from afar Alec awaited the the firt reports with a stony façade, feeling Max's restlessness pouring out of her. She was pacing along the edge of their temporary command post, clearly on edge. Once the sign came in that the entrance to the cave was clear she halted and froze, her eyes glued to Alec.

Alec could see the the hunter's glint in her eyes but didn't have the heart to refuse her, he nodded once and together they blended in with the bushes and sprinted to the entrance. There they joined the main assault teams and split up.

Exchanging a final glance, Max blew him a kiss and swiftly turned a corner her ponytail dancing behind her.


	13. …Get up and knock the bastard down

Chapter 12b

Title: …Get up and knock the bastard down.

One robed figure turned away from the others and entered a small antechamber. Hidden away in the shadows Max pushed the button on her microphone twice, sending two crackling sounds to the other team leaders. He's mine. Separated by the light of numerous candles and walls or bedrock was Alec, answering her with one telling her to move out.

Using her abilities to their fullest she crept forward, never taking her eyes of her prey. Naming them prey as opposed to enemy they could be hunted and to hunt them was what she wanted. With a single jump she traversed a pool of light and followed the shadowy figure ahead of her, slowly leading her further into the shadows. Max smiled her feral smile, shadows were good, he would never hear or see her coming. Now she was holding the advantage creeping along in the shadows. Hearing the quiet calls in her ear that signalled the progress of the others, she tuned them out to the back of her mind.

Finally the figure stopped in a round cavern with a large table carved out of the same bedrock as the walls. From her vantage point she could see arms going up to push back the hood, revealing the identity of this figure. It was an old man who seemed eerily familiar; she had seen this man before. She wrecked her brain trying to remember. She would need to report it to the others, the others would know whether this was one of the scientists they needed alive. Alive and their captives, to fix the few mistakes Manticore had left in the coding, like the serotonin deficiency. Suddenly the light of a candle played with a jewel set on his right hand.

Max zoomed in to see it more clearly and suddenly she knew, this was Sandeman. This was the made who created them, who knew everything about them. He would be able to save them surely. But this was also the man who had held her captive for over a year, while experimenting on her. Her mind was telling her to keep him alive but her heart sought revenge.

Before she could tell her inner animal to back down she was on top of him tearing at the robe. A red haze came over her as she tore at his clothes. Once those were shredded around them she continued into flesh and watched in satisfaction as blood sprayed everywhere all the while crying out her rage at him. She could feel hands puling at the trying to drag her away from her prey. She shrugged them away growling at them to stay away from her prey. She wasn't done with him yet. Seeing the body convulse beneath her as the flow of blood slowed to a trickle Max renewed her assault on the body until it no longer resembled anything human. It was only a mess of bones and shredded flesh. Realizing that she purred from satisfaction and her animal went to rest.

The trance she was in receded to the back of her mind.

Her conscience awakened.

Blood

She was covered in blood.

Beneath her was something.

Prey

Her prey?

No, he wasn't prey he was the enemy, just the enemy.

The red haze receded and Max sat back on her haunches. She didn't dare to look down, didn't want to see a lifeless body at her feet, killed by her own hands. Tearing from the hands that were trying to comfort her she jumped to her feet and ran.

Ran. Anywhere but there, where the smell of blood and gore hung in the air.

She couldn't breathe, the air was stifling her. She was clawing at the shirt, tearing the fabric at her throat to increase her airflow.

It wasn't working, she needed to get out.

To breathe fresh air. She needed….

There.

Light.

Max headed for it, without seeing anything else. All she could see was a small dab of light and the raced for it, like her life depended on it.

Once outside she took a few staggering steps then sank to her knees and cried for the death of her humanity. She was finally the animal Lydecker and society had proclaimed her to be.

What was she to do now?

The end.


End file.
